Unbreakable
by MySoulAches
Summary: Set in the aftermath of Maura's abduction and rescue, Jane and Maura must fight against feelings of guilt and anguish in order to save their relationship. Rizzles fiction. Rated Mature for emotionally fueled Rizzles lovemaking.
1. Chapter 1

**-1-**

Ever since Maura had been returned back to her family and friends, she'd been having trouble sleeping and now, instead of Jane, she was the one waking up every night in a fit of terror and panic. She'd kept it to herself however, not wanting to add further stress to Jane, who'd slept on her couch every night since she'd been found.

Maura's life had been in danger before, but this time was different. She'd been violated in a most horrible way. She'd been stolen right from under Jane's nose; a plot so sinister and well thought out, it left Maura to wonder who had such an axe to grind with Jane.

This morning she'd awaken gasping for air. She'd felt like that madman had his hands wrapped around her neck, slowly squeezing the life out of her. She reached over and felt for Jane, but she wasn't there. She hadn't slept in the same bed with her since she was rescued. She couldn't understand why really, but Jane's excuse was that she wanted to make sure she was safe.

Safe? How could one ever be so safe again?

Maura slowly shook her head as she took a sip of her espresso.

"Are you okay?" Jane's soft voice spoke up, breaking the heart wrenching silence between them.

They'd been sitting there eating breakfast in silence. Angela had cooked it for them while they were still sleeping. Maura was the first one up, while Jane snoozed heavily on the couch. Maura knew that she herself was suffering from some type of post traumatic thoughts and feelings but she refused to let them get the best of her.

She was sleep deprived and angry. Angry because whoever it was that was working with her abductor was still out there, haunting them, and stealing their peaceful sleep.

"Yes I'm fine," she answered quickly and shoved a forkful of scrambled eggs into her mouth.

Jane got up from her seat and shrugged over to her side. "No you're not fine. You haven't spoken to me all morning." Jane's voice was soft and calming.

"I said I'm fine, Jane."

"Come on, Maur," Jane said as she touched her lightly on the arm, the simple contact sent chills racing up Maura's arm.

The sensation immediately reminding her of what she had been missing and what she had wanted from Jane in the days following her return, but Jane had refused to give to her. It was overwhelming, that sense of having found and then lost that special touch of Jane's. That touch that turned her insides into gelatin, and that touch that paralyzed her senses.

It was too overwhelming to remember that while she was held captive, thoughts of that touch and thoughts of the feel of Jane's lips against hers were what gave her courage to fight for her freedom. It was too overwhelming to feel Jane's soft hands on her now, knowing that Jane was for some reason holding back her love. And she couldn't comprehend why.

"Don't," Maura snapped as she jumped out of her seat and backed away from Jane, "Please… Just don't."

Maura was tired and she was sleepy. She ran her fingers through her hair and looked over at Angela who was looking at her oddly, and then she glanced over at Jane. She saw the hurt in her eyes immediately, but there was nothing she could do about it. It was already done.

"Maura?" Jane's husky voice croaked out, "What's wrong?"

Maura felt her heart rising into her throat. She couldn't bear the look in Jane's eyes and knowing that she was the reason that she felt pain at this moment. "Nothing is wrong, Jane."

Jane's mouth hung open as she stared at her. It had only been a few days since she'd been returned; four to be exact and Jane hadn't initiated sex not once. Maura was baffled as to why. Up until this point, they'd carried on their very private relationship without any hiccups.

They worked together flawlessly without letting anyone in on their secret love affair. When they had relationship arguments, they acted as if nothing was wrong at work, worked all day together and came home and fixed the problem. Their secret relationship worked for them…

But something was wrong. Something was very wrong. They stopped communicating their feelings when Maura got back. It was the complete opposite of how it Maura thought it was going to be. She wondered if Jane's distance was because of being mishandled and marked by the maniac. She wanted to know but her newfound fear prevented her from breaching the subject.

Maura lowered her head and sighed heavily. "I'm sorry… I'm just," she looked up at Jane and her hazel eyes drooped with fatigue. "I didn't sleep well last night." She said as she started off towards her bedroom.

She needed to get away from them both before she burst into tears. Her therapist would probably like to hear how she handled this with some of the coping methods she'd taught her. But Maura didn't want to practice breathing, she didn't want to meditate, and she definitely didn't want to journal. She just wanted to make love to Jane, slowly and passionately. That's all that she wanted; the comfort of feeling Jane's body next to hers and her lips caressing her skin as soft music played in the background. That's how they did it, almost every night. Slow and soulful lovemaking set to the tune of soft instrumental music. It was a communal moment for their hearts and their bodies; something they both needed every night.

As she passed by Jane, Jane caught her arm softly and peered into her eyes. Maura knew that she was searching deep for an answer behind her behavior. She wasn't going to try and hide it. She needed her girlfriend, now more than ever. She needed the intimacy as much as she needed air to breathe.

"Baby, what is it?" Jane whispered, her eyes pleaded with her to open up.

Maura's eyes gazed down at Jane's lips momentarily before returning to her eyes. If Jane didn't understand that, she didn't know what else she could do to make her understand how much she needed her.

She understood that her abduction had messed Jane up completely, but she was back now and they needed to keep living, not in fear, but in the same warm love they had before this all happened.

Maura glanced over at Angela who was watching them out of the corner of her eye and sighed.

"I need you," she said in a hushed whisper.

Jane looked over at her mother, who turned her back and started cleaning the countertops to give them some privacy.

"What are you talking about? I'm here." Jane said.

"Jane, stop pretending as if you don't know what I'm talking about it. Why haven't you even tried since I got back?"

Jane sighed heavily. Yes, she knew exactly what she was talking about. She pulled her closer to where their bodies were inches apart. "Please, not now," she motioned her head towards her mother.

"Then when?" Maura challenged her to carry on the conversation. "Tonight when we are in bed together? Oh that's right, we don't sleep together anymore."

Jane felt her mother's eyes on them. She didn't even bother turning to see. She clenched her jaw tightly together and softened her grip on her tortured Maura.

"I'm sorry, Maur… I just want to make sure no one comes in. Don't you understand?"

Maura nodded. "Of course I do, but if someone wants to come in, they'll come in regardless if you are sleeping on the couch or in my arms."

Jane sigh heavily again and squeezed Maura's arm as she pulled her closer until she was embracing her. Jane placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "You're right, I know."

"I need you in bed with me tonight…" Maura's voice caught in her throat. "Please…Jane."

Jane pulled her in for a tight hug, "God, Maur, I'm so sorry… I will I promise." She kissed her again on the forehead and then on the cheek and then softly on the lips. She didn't care of Angela was standing there. She had to have known anyway. She was the only one who was always around Jane and Maura and she probably witnessed many secret interchanges between the two.

Jane disengaged and let her go. Maura touched her lips with her trembling fingers. After a few moments, she pulled her fingers away and nodded slowly.

"I'm really tired."

"I know," she said turning her towards the stairs, "Go back to bed. I'll check on you a little later."

Maura just sighed and left her standing there, disappearing upstairs a few moments later. Jane continued to stand there watching, debating whether to follow her upstairs and lay with her. Everything in her body told her to follow her. But what if she went and slipped into bed with Maura and it would leave the front door vulnerable to an intruder…

"Go to her, Jane." Angela's soft voice called her out of her thoughts.

Jane's eyes fluttered quickly while her brain tried to comprehend her mother's command. "What?"

"She needs you right now, Janie."

Jane felt her heart rising into her throat. She just nodded briskly, biting down on her lip and fighting back her tears. "She needs me to protect her." Jane's body began to tremble as a battle began to be fought out inside of her. A battle between her desire to stay downstairs and protect her girlfriend and her need of being intimately close to her.

She brought her hands up and strummed her fingers through her hair. Her eyes were glued to the staircase.

"She needs you to be there," Angela said pointing towards the stairs, "Not here."

It was then that Jane looked in the direction of her mother. Tears glistened the wells of her eyes, "How long have you known?"

Angela shrugged, "I can see it in her eyes." She said walking over to Jane and touching her softly on her arm, "And the love is there in your eyes too."

"Oh, Ma…" Jane was touched deeply, "I love her so much."

"I know," Angela said nodding, "These people who stole her from us…" she sighed, "and from you… they tried to break you, they tried to break her, but they did not succeed! Do you know why?"

Jane swiped a tear out of her eye, "Why?"

"Because together, you girls are unbreakable."

Jane nodded.

"What is preventing you from going to her right now?"

"Fear…"

"Of what?"

Jane looked off towards the front door, "Fear that he'll catch me sleeping again and this time Maura may not be so lucky."

"I understand… But Maura surviving, Jane, that wasn't luck baby."

"What was it?"

"It was love." Angela said nodding, allowing the silence to drive the point home. "Love brought that beautiful girl home to her family, Jane. Not luck… Love."

Her words landed heavy on Jane's heart. She knew her mother was right and she knew that fear was the wedge that was driving them apart. And she couldn't afford to let that happen.

She inhaled deeply and nodded. "Okay…" she said softly patting her mother's arm, "Thank you."

"Anytime, Janie."

"No, I really mean it, Ma… You're so understanding of Maura and I's relationship."

Angela smiled. "No one has a right to step in between you and the one you love. The only time they can is when you allow them to. Don't let them."

Jane smiled and pulled away from her mother. "You're so right about that." She said as she made her way to the staircase. As she placed her foot on the first step, she fought the overwhelming fear of leaving the front door unguarded.

Protecting Maura was important. But what was more important was the fact that Maura needed her to be close to her right now, holding her close, and loving her the way that she enjoyed. Their life had been temporarily turned upside, violated by a maniac who felt that he had a right to abduct Maura, strike beautiful face and slice off her gorgeous locks.

Thinking about it drove Jane nearly insane. That man's filthy hands caused Maura so much pain and Jane let it happen. Or that's what Jane thought. She slipped, and Maura got hurt.

Jane pushed the door opened slowly and peered inside. Her thin body lay quietly in the bed, her arm draped over Jane's pillow, as she pulled it in close to her body. The closer Jane stepped to the bed, the more she came to the realization just how much she loved this beautiful being laying in front of her.

"Maura," Jane whispered softly.

Maura didn't respond right away. But after a couple of moments, Jane saw her reach up and swipe at her eyes, followed by a light sniffle.

Jane climbed into the bed and slowly scooted next to her. She put her arm around her and pulled her in to her body, placing a soft kiss on the side of her tear soaked face.

"I'm here, baby… I'm here." She whispered.

Maura reached back and cupped Jane's head, holding her there while she kissed her softly.

"Thank you…"

Jane sighed and embraced her tightly. "You're welcome."

As she lay there with Maura, she couldn't help but to feel the same desire she had always felt for her. But this time, it was different. It was stronger than before, deeper and more intense. As she pulled her closer, she knew that the time of waiting was over. She needed Maura as much as she needed her. She loved this woman more than anything alive and she was so happy to have her back in her arms.

And she was about to prove it to her…

* * *

 **Note: Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**-2-**

Maura rolled over and gazed into Jane's awaiting eyes, "I never knew what it was like to live in fear, until now." Her soft voice was just above a whisper.

Jane instantly felt tears stinging the backs of her eyes; she inhaled deeply, holding them at bay. "He can't hurt you anymore. I promise I won't let that happen." Jane's hand found the flatness of Maura's belly as she caressed it while pulling her closer. "I'm so sorry I let this happen."

Maura shook her head negatively, "You didn't let this happen, Jane. It just happened."

Jane's throat tightened up with emotion as she considered the moment she realized that Maura was missing. She'd come back to her place, relieved that Ma and the rest were safe and within her sight. She couldn't wait to make sure everyone was settled in their own spots, so she could go to bed with Maura. She remembered walking through the house with nothing other than Maura on her mind. She wanted to touch her, she wanted to kiss her, and she wanted make slow passionate love to the woman who owned her heart.

Frankly, amidst the drama, the stress and the craziness of searching for the person who was terrorizing her, all she could think of was being with her girlfriend. She was anticipating every hour, every minute, and every second that she was going to spend with her that night. Her life came to a screeching halt when she realized that Maura was gone…

"It shouldn't have happened at all," Jane whispered. The rush of emotions from her thoughts threatened to overtake her. She trembled lightly as Maura reached and cupped her face. A moment later, Maura pulled her into a soft kiss, capturing and stilling Jane's trembling lips.

"It's okay…" She said softly, "It's over now."

Jane bit down on her bottom lip and placed a soft kiss on Maura's chin. "I was so afraid." She said as she laid her head on Maura's shoulder.

Maura pulled her in for a gentle embrace. "I was too… I still am."

Jane whimpered a bit and choked on another set of tears. "Baby, I'm so sorry." She said, finally allowing herself to shed those dreadful tears that were choking the breath out of her.

"Shh…" Maura soothed her while pulling her closer, "I love you."

Oh, to be in her arms again and to hear those words come out of her mouth; made Jane feel complete, whole, and satisfied.

Maura strummed her fingers through Jane's hair as Jane settled comfortably on top of her, their legs intertwining like usual, and their bodies settling together like a puzzle.

"I love you too." Jane said, her hands reaching under Maura's back and pulling her closer and tighter than before. "I've missed you." She said as her lips grazed the exposed portion of Maura's chest, just right above her cleavage.

Maura inhaled a deep breath and let out a quivering sigh; her fingers lacing through Jane's hair, pulling her in closer and tighter to her body. She missed feeling her lover's body against hers. It's what brought her comfort; more than yoga, more than reading, more than anything. Jane's love was what she needed to heal.

Jane's lips traced the outline of Maura's tank top, slowly caressing her prickled skin. Jane's touch still gave her goosebumps. Jane gazed up at Maura who was gazing down at her, and she realized at that moment, just how much her life revolved around Maura.

Had they kidnapped Angela, yes Jane would have no doubt searched endlessly to find her. But Maura… When they decided to take Maura, they were deliberately screwing with Jane's livelihood, her sanity, and her well-being. Whoever it was, knew how much Maura meant to her. Whoever it was knew that if you harmed the good doctor, or at least threatened to harm her, Jane would lose her goddamn mind. And that's exactly what she did.

She nearly went insane searching for her. She'd dare not sleep and lose one second of time that could be spent searching for her best friend. And that dream she had while napping in Maura's office— Of Maura's cold dead body. Of Susie telling her she'd take good care of Maura for her. Like hell she would! That was Jane's job to take care of Maura. It was no one else's job but hers. She dare not even think of it!

"I've missed you too," Maura said softly.

Jane forced the thoughts into the back of her mind as she continued to place soft kisses on Maura's skin.

She reached and pulled Maura's tank up, exposing her belly and placed soft kisses on it. Maura responded almost immediately, her body beginning to rise and fall underneath Jane's kiss. Jane removed the tank slowly and tossed it into the corner of the room. Maura grabbed the covers and pulled them over the two of them, gathering them into their own little private world of warmth and love.

"I'm so relieved you came back to me." Jane's trembling voice whispered into her ear. She placed a soft kiss on Maura's ear; Maura instinctively pulled Jane in closer to her.

"I couldn't think of being anywhere but here with you," Maura whispered, a slight moan escaping her mouth as Jane's lips passed over her neckline, "Jane…"

Jane loved the way Maura called her name. Maura had a special way of calling her name, a way that no one else had been able to quite master to this day. It was a mixture of need, passion, respect, and love… All wrapped up into one.

"Tell me what you want…" Jane sighed against Maura's lips as her body began to move with Maura's.

"You." Maura's lips captured hers, pulling her in deeper. "It's been so long."

"I know," Jane felt the goosebumps rise over her skin when Maura dragged her nails down her back, and the tremors followed seconds later. Jane felt overwhelmed, on the verge of tears. She knew Maura felt the same. She could see it in her eyes. "We don't have to do this…" Jane's voice was hushed and unsure.

"I want to…" Maura exhaled while wrapping her legs around Jane's, further pressing their bodies together. "I'll be quiet, I promise."

Her eagerness caused Jane's blood to heat up with a passion that only she could truly understand. She smiled and kissed Maura on the lips, their lips crashing together and then stabilizing each other for a kiss that was so deep and so passionate, that it touched the very core of their beings.

"Jane…" She whimpered again, "Please help me forget…"

At that moment Jane's desire was really strong for her; far stronger than anything she had ever previously experienced. She wanted nothing more than to make love to her the way she always had: slowly, passionately, and purposeful, but something inside of her overtook her. It was something; a feeling that made her desire restless and ravenous.

"Help me forget." She repeated.

Maura's words landed as pleas onto Jane's ears. She pleaded with Jane to come back to her and to love her in a way that made her forget what had happened to her.

Jane knew that whatever she did would be temporary but at least for those short moments, Maura would not be thinking of her abduction.

Jane rose up and looked Maura into the eyes. Maura's eyes were blazing with the same fiery passion she saw every night when they made love, but this time just slightly different. She saw dire need in her eyes. She saw a look that exemplified the very meaning of their relationship.

Maura's fingers tugged at Jane's hair, their eyes glued together, burning the love their spirits had for each other, into each other.

Jane's eyes examined Maura's as she hovered over this heavenly body that belonged to her. She could never express to Maura just how much she enjoyed sharing her in her love. She gazed down at her lips a half a second before she dove in and took them forcefully.

Maura was surprised by the intensity of the kiss, but she accepted it without a problem, even moaning and pulling Jane deeper into it. Jane took her hands and pinned them at her head. Maura looked at her, her chest rising and falling with excitement.

Before Maura could recover from the first kiss, Jane was diving in for another. Jane's breaths became her breaths while Jane's passion drove her into frenzy. And that was okay with Maura. Jane had never tried to take her so intensely before. The kiss was amazingly intense, Maura trying her best to keep up with Jane's lips.

Maura's body was heating up and she squeezed her hands into tight fists in order to deal with the strength of Jane's grip on them. And then suddenly, Jane stopped, literally slamming the breaks on her frenzied kisses. Maura felt Jane slowly release her hands from her grip.

Maura wasn't sure what had happened or what she was doing. She slowly opened her eyes and gazed up at Jane.

Jane was breathing heavily, a vacant expression in her eyes as she gazed down at Maura's arms and wrists. Maura gazed over at her wrists and sighed. The evidence of her being mishandled was still there and screaming out for to the world. She was bruised badly. His fingerprints in the form of bruises still marked her skin as a painful reminder of the day that she'd been stolen and violated.

Maura had a hard time dealing with it, but it could have been worse. He could have raped her, but thankfully that wasn't on the agenda. She reached for Jane, and pulled her into an embrace.

"Don't stop…" She whispered into her ear.

"But you're hurt."

Maura shook her head negatively, "No, I'm fine now that I am with you."

Without warning, Jane bursts into tears. Her tears came out of nowhere and with such intensity that she was having trouble controlling her breathing.

Maura pulled her in, planting a deep kiss on her lips. The salt of Jane's tears now mixed with Maura's as their lips fought a battle for control. Maura dipped her tongue inside of Jane's mouth, instantly rendering her momentarily paralyzed.

Maura flipped Jane over onto her back and straddled her in bed. "There is nothing that can happen to me that will make me want you less." She kissed her softly. "However you want to have me, I don't care. I just need you. I need you right now…"

The moment that Jane's heart passed the point of no return, Maura clearly discerned it. It came in the form of her deep chocolate eyes, darkening to lighter shade of obsidian. It was the look of pure, unadulterated lust.

Jane grabbed her arms and pulled her roughly against her. "I don't want to hurt you." She exhaled against Maura's lips that were repeatedly latching on to hers.

"You won't." Maura gasped when Jane took her and flipped her onto her back, taking the top position once again. "Nothing you do can ever hurt me… Except when you don't love me."

"Oh baby…" Jane slipped herself between Maura's legs and began moving herself along with Maura's. "I'll never stop loving you," she whispered. Her hands traveled up and laced her fingers with Maura's. Maura's body supported the weight of Jane's as their hands remained entwined.

"I thought I was going to die," Maura whimpered, Jane's head dipped into the crook of her neck and grazed her tongue across it. "I thought I would never feel this ever again."

"I would have turned the city upside down to find you baby," Jane said as she reached down and pulled at Maura's panties. She caught the right corner and ripped them off of her body.

Jane wasted no time reaching down and touching her softness.

"Did he try to hurt you?" Jane asked softly as her hands glided over what belonged to her.

"Yes, but I fought him off."

Jane dove in, silencing Maura with her kiss, "Good."

"I'll fight to protect what's yours." Maura cooed in Jane's ear. "I want you terribly Jane."

The tears escaped Jane's eyes as she kissed Maura's neck. "I'm so glad you're back." Jane sighed, her hands found the softness of Maura's folds.

Maura shivered underneath her and hummed her name. Jane slid her finger slowly inside and started fondling her purposefully. Maura's legs parted wider, she invited Jane in for more as her hands that were wrapped up in Jane's hair began to guide her downward. Slowly Jane kissed her way down while Maura guided her head, her hips circling with anticipation.

"I thought about this when I was alone and captive." Her voice was soft and full of love.

"You'll never be alone like that again…" Jane parted her lips and rested her head on Maura's thigh, waiting for the perfect time…

Maura's anticipation increased as her hips continued to circle, gently caressing Jane's lips with her bare skin. "Ohmm, Jane… Please."

Jane glanced down and noticed that Maura was piping hot. She couldn't believe that she'd waited so long. It was funny because at this moment, she couldn't think of sitting at the front door guarding it, while Maura was laying here like this.

Maura's hands caressed Jane's hair and pulled her closer to the center of her being.

"Make me forget… Please." Maura's voice was just above a whisper. She was keeping her promise of being "quiet", which surprised Jane because usually by now, her voice would be shattering windows…

Maura had asked a third time for Jane to take away her pain so now it was time… Jane obliged leaning in slowly, caressing Maura's soft and bare folds with her trembling tongue, slowly dipping inside and tasting the outer edges with it.

Maura gasped from the sudden sensation of pure love that enveloped her throbbing pussy, "Jane…" her name dripped off of her lips like golden honey. "Oh Jane…"

Jane's lips captured Maura's clit, holding it captive while her tongue danced across it and twirled it in her mouth. Maura's body caught fire as she began speaking in a language that she only spoke when Jane was making love to her. Jane thought it was the most amazing thing that she'd pick Serbian of all languages to speak out with her intimate thoughts.

Maura's fingers clenched Jane's hair tightly at first, but eventually she loosened her grip and gently pulled her against her body. Jane's kisses were gentle yet firm, slow and deep. Her tongue dipped inside of Maura, tasting every bit of the beautiful pussy that belonged solely to her.

"Yes… That's all yours!" Maura cried out softly.

Jane placed soft deep kisses on her, being careful to encircle her throbbing clit and suck on it more and more as Maura's body wiggled underneath her.

"O, volim te!" She cried out as she began thrusting her heavenly body against Jane's mouth. Her entire body trembled as it teetered on the edge of a powerful and hesitating orgasm. Maura was holding it back. Jane could tell. But that was okay because Maura deserved to feel good. She'd been through so much.

"I love you too, Baby." Jane didn't know much of the Serbian language, but she'd picked up a few of Maura's pre-orgasm phrases, one of which was, _volim te_ , which meant, "I love you."

Maura's soft moans turned into whimpers as her emotions threatened to overtake her as well. She began sobbing, real tears flowing down her eyes, as she turned her head over to the side. Jane not wanting her to lose this feeling moved on top of her quickly and began to grind her soft pussy against Maura's.

This definitely got Maura's attention, her tear filled eyes snapped opened and her hands instinctively reached up and became entangled into Jane's hair.

Their bodies slipped together, their eyes locked on to each other. The sensation became intense with Jane's hardened clit rubbing against Maura's.

"Oh…Jane… Baby…" Maura whimpered.

"You like that?" Jane asked the obvious. Their bodies slipped and smashed beautifully together creating a symphony of intimate sounds.

Maura nodded and dug her nails into Jane's arm. "I love you." The tears poured out of her eyes, her lips trembled with emotion.

"I know, baby," Jane said dipping in and tasting her lips, holding on tightly to them as she grinded her body harder against Maura's. She could feel the heat and the wetness of Maura's impending orgasm. "I'm so glad to have you back."

"Jane…" She pulled Jane's head into the crook of her neck as the onset of her orgasm began. She held her tightly against her, her body trembling in Jane's arms as she released the pent up frustrations she'd been holding on to for days. "Don't let me go," she whimpered as the height of her orgasm rendered her temporarily speechless.

"I won't," Jane whispered to her. "I promise I won't."

"Oh Jane… Mmm… Mmmm…please…"

"I'm right here baby," Jane whispered to her in her ear as she rode with her as her orgasm finally let go of her and began to trickle off the scene. "I'm right here."

After a few moments, Maura's fingernails released Jane's arms and she collapsed underneath her. She rolled over, facing away from Jane and exhaled heavily. Jane pulled the covers over their sweat soaked bodies and spooned her tightly.

Jane didn't need to say anything. If she did everything right, she knew what would come next. She waited…

And waited…

And waited for it.

Maura's body trembled with a light chuckle that came from deep inside of her. God, she missed her laugh so much! It was that adorable post orgasm chuckle that was so cute and sweet that Jane couldn't help but to laugh too.

She leaned in and kissed her on the shoulder. "I really needed that, Maur."

"I did too." She said reaching behind her and draping her hand over Jane's thigh.

Jane exhaled and kissed her lightly again. As the minutes rolled by, she couldn't keep the fear of an intruder from rising up once again. She sighed heavily and watched the door.

She was weaponless, defenseless.

"You don't have to stay if you don't want to." Maura said sleepily.

Jane thought it over in her mind. Her brain told her to go, but her heart told her to stay. She leaned in and kissed her softly on the side of the face.

"I'll be right back," she said softly as she climbed out of the bed and walked over to the door. When she put her hand on the doorknob, she turned and looked at Maura.

Maura's eyes were on her. She didn't blink, she didn't flinch. She just waited to see what Jane's next move would be.

Jane sighed heavily and took a deep and deliberate breath. Without taking her eyes off of Maura, she reached and engaged the lock on the bedroom door.

A smiled crossed Maura's face as she welcomed her lover back in the bed with her. Jane was tired too. She'd missed too many hours of sleep searching for Maura. And now that she was back, she couldn't think of anything better to do than to catch up on her sleep, while sleeping peacefully in her girlfriend's arms.

"Sleep tight, Baby." Jane said softly, resting her face in the nape of Maura's neck.

"You too, my love."

Maura wasn't sure if she'd sleep well or not. It really didn't matter because regardless of how she would sleep, she had her most prized possession there with her, sharing this moment of slumber. She exhaled deeply and settled into her pillow. Jane's strong arms provided the necessary security and protection she needed in order to get through the day.

And when it came to hers and Jane's emotional recovery, that's all they could ask for...

Just one day at a time.

* * *

 **Note: What would you like to see happen next? I have some initial ideas, but I would like to hear from reader from time to time how they would like the story to go. Sorry if any grammar errors. Tried to catch them all.**


	3. Chapter 3

**-3-**

Jane opened her eyes slowly. Something had pulled her out of her comfortable sleep. It wasn't a noise, nor was it a nightmare. But it was the feeling that Maura had moved out of her arms. As her eyes became accustomed to the low lighting in the room, she caught sight of Maura sitting on the edge of the bed, her head hung low and her breaths came out in ragged intervals.

Jane rose quickly, crawled over and embraced her beautiful woman, "What is it?"

Maura inhaled deeply and exhaled, "Nothing."

Jane quickly scanned her over and determined that she was physically fine. "It doesn't look like nothing is wrong?"

Maura smiled a bit, and sighed, "Just a frightening dream. It's over now."

"What was it about?" Jane spoke softly as she placed a tender kiss on Maura's shoulder.

Maura just shook her head and leaned it against Jane's. "I prefer not to talk about it."

Jane nodded, "Okay."

They sat in silence for another few minutes before Maura yawned, "I think I'll go back to bed."

Jane frowned and looked over at the clock. It was almost 1 pm and she wanted to go back to bed? Jane had a nagging feeling that Maura was falling into a depression.

"Why don't we go downstairs and watch Netflix?" Jane encouraged, "Ma is probably waiting on us."

Maura sighed, "Oh, I forgot that Angela was downstairs…" She turned to Jane, "I hope she didn't hear us."

Jane laughed. "I highly doubt she did. You were as quiet as a mouse. Brava!"

Maura chuckled and touched her lips softly against Jane's. "Thank you so much. I really needed that."

"No need to thank me. I had fun."

"But you didn't climax." Maura gave her another kiss.

Jane shrugged and tickled her nose with hers, "Doesn't matter, we still have all day."

Maura smiled, her beautiful smile lit up the entire room.

"You're so beautiful," Jane whispered. "You're my life you know that right?"

Maura nodded and closed her eyes, relishing in the moment as Jane grazed her soft lips over her face, "Yes… You're mine too."

Jane placed a soft peck on Maura's lips, "Ma knows about us…" she said softly, gauging Maura's reaction.

Maura was the one who suggested their relationship be discreet. She said that once they exposed their relationship then their workmates, friends and family would start _expecting_ them to act like a couple. She preferred to just carry on as they are in public and live their romantic lives privately.

It worked for Jane. Hell, anything Maura said worked for her. She was thoroughly wrapped around her finger and she was okay with that. Maura was such a blessing to have. She was smart, witty, drop dead gorgeous, and she was a maniac in bed. On top of that, she couldn't get enough of lovemaking. Jane had on one occasion, told her that she needed to be balanced when it came to sex. And Maura with her beautiful doting eyes just stared at her and said… _"Why on Earth would I want that?"_

It took a moment for her words to register with Maura. "Oh my god, how did she find out? Is she upset?" Her face was panicked all of a sudden.

"No, not at all. And you told her." Jane smiled.

Maura frowned, "I did no such thing. What are you talking about?"

"Well maybe your mouth didn't tell her but your eyes did." Jane chuckled a bit, "She said she figured it out because she saw how you looked at me."

"And how was that?"

Jane shrugged, "Uh, I don't know… Maybe like you wanted to undress me and fuck me, I guess."

"Jane!" she said in a hot whisper, "You're so bad!" she punched her playfully and laughed along with her.

"But seriously, she said that she saw it in our eyes, and how we looked at each other. I guess she could tell how much we loved each other."

Maura nodded quietly. "Not to mention, possibly also she may have overheard us a couple of times."

"I'm sure the entire neighborhood could hear you, Maur."

Maura laughed lightly. Jane again sat and watched her, amazed at how a person's laugh could make her feel so warm inside and so complete.

"What can I say; my girlfriend knows how to please me."

That was music to Jane's ears. "I'm glad you think so." Jane reached and took Maura's hand. She sighed heavily as a look of concern crossed her face. "You know I would make love to you all day long if that's what you wanted…"

Maura nodded, "I hear a 'but' coming."

"But… In this case, it's not healthy for us." Jane said pulling her closer. "We can't allow this person, whoever they may be, to terrorize us to the point of hiding in dark rooms in the middle of the day."

"I'm not hiding," Maura said, immediately going on the defensive and pulling away.

Jane gently tightened her grip around her delicate arms, preventing her from pulling away completely, "I am," Jane said softly.

Maura relaxed, "You are?"

Jane nodded. "I'm hiding." Jane was keenly aware of Maura's feelings, so she took the opportunity to make Maura's feelings her own. "If I could stay home all day with you and keep you from danger, I would," she whispered.

Maura looked down and nodded. Jane was speaking her feelings exactly. "I would like to get up and go out, maybe go shopping with you or maybe to a restaurant but… I'm afraid." She said looking up at Jane, "I'm afraid he'll send someone else, and this time I won't get away."

Jane nodded and stroked her face with the back of her hand, "I know how you feel." She knew exactly how she felt. Hoyt never stopped until she stopped him. When one apprentice failed, he'd just train and send another one. Everything about this new terror made her remember Hoyt and his method. It made her wonder if this new person was actually one of his apprentices who had assumed the position as the Master when she killed Hoyt.

She wouldn't be surprised. Hoyt was always thinking five goddamn steps ahead of her. Maybe this was his way of haunting her even from the grave…

Maura smiled and swiped the tear that had risen in her eye. "I feel crippled by this, Jane."

Jane sighed and strummed her fingers through Maura's hair. "I know it's hard, Baby, but we can't let this cripple us. We have to keep going… We have to keep living."

"What if it happens again?"

Jane squeezed her eyes tightly shut. She didn't want to think of it. She didn't want to think about the possibility of someone stealing her sweet Maura away from her again and she didn't want to think about some filthy bastard putting his hands all over Maura. She didn't want to think about being so close, but yet so far and never getting there on time.

She didn't save Maura…

Maura saved herself. Jane knew it, Maura knew it, and everybody knew it. Jane couldn't save Maura this time. She was too exhausted to think straight and too afraid to sleep. She had long accepted the fact that she couldn't catch Maura's abductor and Maura saved herself from imminent danger.

Jane nodded and looked into those beautiful hazel eyes. She was so proud of Maura for standing up to her abductor. She was so proud to have her as her girlfriend. She was beautiful, smart, and a badass when she possessed a sharp object.

Jane cupped Maura's face and placed a tender kiss on her lips. "Honestly, I don't know, Maur." She exhaled against her lips, "But I'll do whatever I can to make sure it doesn't. I'm going to find out who is behind this."

"We are…" Maura nodded and took Jane's lips again.

Jane resisted the urge to climb back into the bed with her lady. "Come on," she said pulling herself and Maura out of the bed. She motioned for Maura to stay put while she grabbed one of her full length sleep shirts out of the drawer and slipped it over Maura's head. She kissed her softly on the cheek and helped her shrug into her robe.

"Thanks," Maura smiled. "You spoil me, my love."

"You deserve it." Jane said as she stepped into a pair of sweats really quick and then into a BPD hoodie. "There."

"You look incredibly sexy." Maura said. She meant it too.

"Well, thanks!" Jane replied grabbing Maura by the arm and leading her towards the door. "We need some daylight to chase away that boogeyman."

Maura chuckled and held on tighter to Jane's arm. "I am so incredibly fortunate to have you."

"I think we are both lucky, Baby." Jane said unlocking the door and opening it up. She felt Maura's grip tighten and she covered her hand supportively as she stepped out of the room with her beloved Maura on her arm.

Maura's tense body relaxed the more steps they took towards the light of the kitchen. Maura smiled and looked in Jane's eyes. There she found her renewed strength and courage. There in Jane's eyes she found the same love that she'd fought so hard to make it back to.

With Jane by her side Maura knew that she could in fact fight this battle of fear and come off victorious. She may have to suffer a few sleepless nights but she knew that Jane would never leave her side.

As they neared the doorway, they heard Angela and Frankie talking. Jane looked over at Maura, leaned in quickly and stole a passionate kiss from her. They parted and walked into the room and greeted Jane's family.

Frankie and Angela began talking to them about the latest buzz at the Dirty Robber but neither Jane nor Maura heard a word they were saying. Their eyes were fixed on each other, communicating a silent promise that only their hearts could decipher.

Come what may, they would face it together…

* * *

 **Note: Thanks for reading. Sorry for typos. In the TV show we always see Jane and Maura in work-mode. I like to write them when they are away from work and don't have to be so professional. I feel a fog coming on, so I'm going to keep writing to combat it. Thanks for your thoughts. I appreciate them and you all! Special thanks to Oddsox, Cecilis, Terri411, BBreader, Gee1008 for reviewing faithfully on all my stories. It gives me encouragement to keep writing. J &M are so fun to write because I love these characters so much! I love all my guest reviewers too. Even though you don't leave a name, I take note of your thoughts. Thanks, MSA**


	4. Chapter 4

**\- 4 -**

Maura and Jane sat and conversed with Angela and Frankie for a couple of hours before Jane finally asked Maura if she wanted to go take a walk and get some ice cream.

"Ice cream, huh?" Maura said, smiling warmly at Jane, her eyes shimmering in the light of the day.

Jane loved the way Maura looked at her. It was no surprise that Angela had them all figured out. Jane could clearly see Maura's love sparkling in her eyes. "Yeah, I figure it's the perfect day for a walk to the ice cream parlor."

Maura's smile lessened a bit and then she nodded slowly. "I'd like that."

Jane wished that they were alone and they could just stay inside for the remainder of the day, but getting outside and soaking up the rays to produce some Vitamin D would do wonders for their mood. Jane and Maura both knew this.

Jane hopped up and stretched. "I'm going to go change unless you want us to walk in our PJs?"

Maura chuckled. "I had completely forgotten that I was still in my robe." She said rising. "I'll be right back." She darted off quickly up the stairs leaving Jane and her guests downstairs.

A moment of awkward silence passed because no one apparently wanted to address Maura's quick exit. Frankie had learned long ago not to ask any questions regarding anything about Maura unless his life depended on it. He and Jane had a wonderful understanding regarding Maura. Jane was aware that Frankie had at one time dared to cross that invisible line and plant a kiss on Maura, and Frankie was aware of how much of a mistake it was in doing so.

"Is she okay?" Angela asked softly.

Jane nodded, "Yes, I think she's going to be just fine." She said as she went off into the guest bedroom to get dressed. She usually kept a drawer full of clothes in the guest room to cover up the fact that she and Maura were actually sleeping together.

Jane had finished and came out into the living room to wait on Maura. Maura was lingering taking forever to get dressed. Jane checked her watch. It had been an hour since Maura ran off upstairs.

Jane's eyes drifted towards the ceiling, "Maura?" She called out, "Are you alright?"

There was no answer. In fact, there wasn't a peep from her at all. No creaks from the ceiling above from her walking across it, no doors closing, no happy off key singing, no music… Just silence. Jane immediately began to panic, but she kept herself in check and started going through the checklist she'd created in her mind. A checklist of every entrance someone could possibly get into Maura's house through.

She glanced at the windows; no one came in while they were sitting there… No one slipped in the back door… No one had come in the front door, but could someone have come through the window upstairs?

She shook off the thought and sighed heavily. She didn't want to show her family that she was still uneasy and frightened to death of someone stealing her beloved Maura away from her again. She didn't want to betray that fact that inside, her mind and heart were screaming at her to go and find Maura because time was so precious and it was speedily ticking away from her.

She walked slowly over to the bottom of the staircase and placed her foot on the bottom step, "Hey Maura?" She called out again, being sure to keep the panic and fright from shaking her voice.

"I'm almost ready." She heard the faint voice of her lover calling from upstairs.

From the distant sound of her voice, it sounded like she was in her bathroom.

"I'll be right back," Jane said to her family as she ascended the stairs to check on Maura. She came to Maura's bedroom door and slowly pushed the door open. She could see Maura moving around in the bathroom as she neared the door.

She knocked lightly at it. "Baby?" Jane called softly.

A few seconds later, the door opened. Maura was dressed in a nice pair of white capris and a soft pink high/low cami. Jane smiled taking in the beautiful sight of her girlfriend, admiring the softness of her silky ivory skin and the appeal of her curvaceous breasts. She looked absolutely heavenly, but her face emitted such sadness.

"Are you okay?" Jane asked softly.

"I'm sorry I am taking so long," Maura said turning back to the mirror. She picked up a brush and started brushing her hair slowly, her lips tightening as she clenched her jaw. "I was just trying to do something with my hair." Her voice was low and uncertain.

Jane's eyes fell momentarily and then she continued to watch Maura attempt to style her hair that was now suddenly several inches shorter than it was last week. Jane loved Maura's long hair. It was beautiful, it was soft, and it was silky and sexy. But now, thanks to Harris, her beautiful locks had been sliced off in an act of violence. It would take weeks, if not months for her hair to grow back to the same length that she was proud of before Harris cut it off.

Jane watched her struggle to get her hair into a ponytail; Maura's hands trembled with mounting frustration and anger.

"Damn it!" Maura hissed and threw the brush against the wall. She lowered her head and held her tears inside, slowly shaking her head back and forth, no doubt cursing her outburst. "I'm sorry…"

Jane sighed and stepped inside of the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She retrieved the discarded brush and came to Maura's side. She gently put her arm around her.

"It's hard for me to look at myself right now." Maura whispered. Her eyes still glued to the sink drain.

"I understand." Jane said softly as she began to run her fingers through Maura's hair.

Maura inhaled softly and finally looked up at their reflection. When Jane caught sight of Maura's eyes gazing back at hers, she smiled and nodded. She then took the brush and quietly brushed Maura's soft hair, keeping eye contact with her the entire time.

"I had a dream earlier that I went back to work and my hair had miraculously grown back."

Jane chuckled softly.

"I know it's crazy, isn't it?"

"Not crazy… That's normal."

Maura sighed heavily. "I never realized how much I loved my hair until it was gone."

Jane nodded and kissed her lightly on the side of the head, "You are still so very beautiful, Maur."

"Thanks," she exhaled.

"I mean it," Jane said as she continued to brush her hair. She reached down and grabbed a claw clip, twisted Maura's hair and clipped it up. "There." Jane said proudly, "Just like you wear it at the morgue."

Maura turned her head from side to side and inspected Jane's handiwork. "I love it, Jane. Thank you."

"Good." Jane said softly as she embraced Maura and pulled her tightly. "Are you going to be alright?" she whispered softly into Maura's ear.

Maura inspected herself a bit more in the mirror and then she nodded, "I believe so."

"What flavor ice cream would you like?"

Maura chuckled. She loved how Jane was trying to distract her from the fact that she was upset over her hair. "Rocky Road."

Jane smiled against Maura's cheek, "Yum." She placed a soft kiss on her neck, "I want pistachio."

"You do not."

Jane laughed, "I sure don't. I'm thinking of something different though."

Maura sighed and smiled. She loved being in Jane's arms more than anything. She reached and cupped the back of Jane's head as she placed soft kisses on her.

"I love you so much." Jane exhaled and hugged her tighter.

"I love you too."

"We are going to get through this, I promise."

Maura nodded, "I know…"

"Are you ready to go now?"

Maura nodded briskly, "Yes, we should go before I change my mind."

"Never that!"

Maura turned to look at Jane, "Do I look presentable enough to go out?"

Jane placed a soft kiss on Maura's lips, "You look absolutely perfect..."

* * *

Their walk was refreshing and invigorating. Jane missed taking jogs with Maura, but soon enough, their routine would be back to normal. By the time they made it back to Maura's house, Maura and Jane both were laughing and having a great time.

They noticed that Frankie's car was gone and they were relieved to soon be able to have some more alone time.

"Are you hungry?" Jane asked.

"Yes, seems like I've worked up an appetite." Maura said as she leaned gently against Jane.

Jane wrapped her arm around her and pulled her in tightly. "What would you like?"

Maura's eyes widened, "You are not cooking for us, Jane, that's my job."

Jane laughed. "Since when?"

"Since forever." Maura smiled and sighed, "I'm okay, Jane. Please don't worry."

"I'm always going to worry, you know that."

Maura placed a light kiss on Jane's lips, "Well, I'm certainly going to worry if you start cooking." She said following up with an adorable chuckle.

Jane nodded and laughed along. "My aren't you a little smart ass today?"

Maura shrugged and winked at Jane before entering the door to her residence. Once inside, they were greeted with the heavenly aroma of Ma's famous spaghetti and meatballs cooking on the stove.

"Oh yum!" Maura exclaimed.

"I know right?" Jane took a deep whiff of the air and strolled into the kitchen.

Maura followed closely behind. Jane had just placed her cell phone down on the island when it buzzed with a text message from her mother.

 _Angela: Dinner is ready. It's just simmering right now._

Jane smiled and composed her text.

 _Jane: Thanks so much, Ma. We were just talking about what we were going to have._

 _Angela: Well, good. Now you don't have to worry. I hope you girls enjoy._

 _Jane: Thanks Ma. I know we will._

 _Angela: You're welcome, sweetie._

 _Jane: Thanks also for being so understanding of me and Maura, you know…_

Angela didn't respond for quite some time, then:

 _Angela: As long as you both are happy, I'm happy. Your secret is safe with me, Janie._

Jane nodded and smiled. She'd never thought she ever get to a point when she'd trust her mother to secrecy, but her gut told her that Angela wouldn't tell a soul about her and Maura's relationship.

Dinner was indeed delicious and afterward Jane and Maura sat down on the couch and watched a bit of TV. Maura had her customary glass of wine while Jane had her beer. After they had finished with their drinks, Jane pulled Maura into a reclining position on the couch. It felt so nice to get back to doing the things they used to do prior to Maura's abduction.

Jane hated to always think of Maura's kidnapping as a starting point, but she couldn't help it. It was something that changed her life forever and everything she did after that, she had to make sure she used her failings as a reference so she could never make the same mistakes over again.

One of which, she would never reject Maura's request to stay with her. Had she stayed that night with Maura, none of this would have happened.

Jane tucked her arm around Maura while they spooned on the couch. Maura had started streaming an episode of Downton Abbey which triggered Jane's brain to fall asleep.

"Oh no, not Downton, Maur…" She groaned and snuggled her face against Maura's, "I actually want to stay up with you tonight."

Maura chuckled and turned the volume up.

Jane pulled Maura closer to her and kissed her softly on the back of the neck. Maura didn't respond immediately, but instead continued to watch the show. Jane knew better than to start kissing on Maura because it would almost always lead to more.

"Are you sleeping here tonight?" Maura asked softly referring to the couch.

Her question caught Jane off guard. "No… Well, I don't think so."

"Okay." She replied.

"Hand me the remote." Jane said.

"Why?"

"Because I'm changing this awful show."

Maura laughed, "No you're not."

"Aww come on, Maur, we always watch this show."

"That is not true, Jane. We watch what you like to watch too."

Jane leaned in and kissed her softly on the ear. Her soft lips traveled over the outer edges of it, tantalizing it with her warm breath. "Since when?" she exhaled.

Maura shivered and moaned softly.

Jane glided her hand down and over Maura's thigh, falling behind to knead the flesh on her soft bottom. "When?" she whispered seductively into her ear.

Maura swallowed hard and reached and grabbed Jane's hand. "I cannot recall."

Jane's passion was growing for her, but she didn't want to cross the line tonight. They'd just made wonderful love this morning, and Jane was charged and ready to go again. No doubt they both were.

"Do you remember when we went camping?" Jane asked.

"How could I forget," Maura smiled, her body trembling against the sensation of Jane's soft lips kissing her softly on the neck. "What about it?"

"It felt so good to make love to you underneath the stars." Jane whispered.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"I enjoyed that as well." Her fingers clenched Jane's hair as she pulled her in tighter. "Jane…"

"Hmm?"

"Please don't ever take this away from me."

Her words pained Jane's heart. She could never think of breaking off their relationship or being with anyone else. After so many years of searching, she'd found that one who completed her.

"I won't…" she said pulling her closer. "Don't take it away from me either." She began rubbing her body.

"I promise I won't either." Maura said breathlessly.

Jane couldn't take any more of the small talk; she pulled Maura over onto her back and slipped flawlessly on top of her. Maura wrapped her fingers up in Jane's hair and pulled her in for a kiss.

"I love you," Jane said between kisses.

"I love you too."

Their lips crashed together with an urgency that only they could truly understand. They craved and needed each other as much as they needed air. That may seem extreme, but that's how it felt. And for that short time they had been separated, something changed between them. Before, they had a wonderful understanding of each other's needs, but now… Jane's needs were Maura's and vice versa. Their passion had been fueled by the struggle of their separation and by their absence. And their reunion has accelerated it.

"It's going to be hard going back to work and pretending we are just friends." Maura said.

Jane dove in and kissed her softly on the neck, soliciting a whimper from her lips. "We'll manage." Jane smiled against Maura's lips.

Maura chuckled and gazed into Jane's eyes. Jane's beautiful dark eyes intoxicated her, literally causing her to take on this glazy drunken look in her eyes. Jane had never in her life seen anyone look at her like this.

"Do you want me?" Jane asked the obvious.

Maura nodded. "Yes, very much so."

"What's stopping you?"

Maura's smile got extremely wide as her eyes lit up with unbridled passion. "Nothing at all." She said pulling Jane and flipping her over onto her back. "My turn." She cooed.

This experience had changed Maura. No longer was she going to allow time to pass her by without first seizing the things she wanted. And one of those things was Jane. She wanted Jane, she needed Jane, and she desired Jane; because Jane belonged to her.

She leaned in and kissed Jane, searing her lips with a fire that could not be easily contained. Harris had tried to scare her and he tried to break her. But he didn't succeed. The love she had for Jane gave her the courage and the strength.

Maura's kiss was almost as frenzied as Jane's had been this morning. She wanted to show Jane just how much she appreciated her for nearly turning the city upside down looking for her. She wanted Jane to know how much she appreciated being loved by her. And she wanted to show her how much her body needed her in order to survive and thrive.

Without thinking, Jane grabbed at Maura's hair as she was accustomed to doing and pulled it slightly. Maura fought the flashbacks that rushed into her mind, realizing that Jane was the one who was pulling her hair and not the other one. And she loved it when Jane was rough with her. She loved it…

Maura yanked her lips away from Jane's abruptly and gazed down at her. Her eyes were ablaze with fiery passion, one that Jane hadn't seen this intense sense the beginning of their sexual relationship.

She smiled. And Jane smiled.

"Come here," Jane said softly, extending her arms to her delicate woman, and pulling her into a warm embrace.

Maura hugged Jane and exhaled deeply. She felt so secure in Jane's arms. She couldn't think of any place else more secure and comfortable.

Jane placed a soft kiss on her head and sighed. "If you need more time, I understand completely."

Maura didn't need more time. She just wanted and needed Jane's body. She hated feeling so "needy" for the lack of a better word, but she couldn't help it. She knew that it was irrational to think that Jane could be there for her at all times, day or night and still work and take care of herself and family.

And she understood. But as for the moments that they shared behind closed doors, away from the view and scrutiny of workmates, press, and whoever else, Jane belonged solely to her and she didn't care if she let her know how much she needed sex and love with her lover.

"All I need is you." Maura whispered softly followed by a kiss.

Jane smiled broadly, "Mmm, I like the sound of that! Would you like to stay here and risk Ma walking in on us or shall we go upstairs?"

Maura mused playfully over it. "Hmm, that's a toughie… Bedroom." She chuckled and pulled Jane in for another kiss and they kissed slowly and passionately.

* * *

A minute or two into the kiss there was a weird noise at the door. It was a mix between a thump and a scratch. Maura jumped up and looked towards the front door.

"What was that?" She gasped.

Jane looked at her weirdly. She hadn't heard the noise yet. And then it came again. Jane sat up quickly and looked towards the door, at the same time reaching for her firearm. She placed her finger on her lips and motioned for Maura to stay put as she slid off of the couch and crept towards the front door, firearm drawn and ready.

She checked her watch. It was going on 10 pm and no one should be at Maura's door this late. Adrenaline had replaced fear as Jane crept ever closer to the door. She saw an outline of a figure through the glass.

Quickly she swung open the door; "Don't move!" she called out, but was momentarily relieved to see that there wasn't anyone standing there. It was just an ornamental tree in a pot sitting right outside of Maura's door.

She walked further outside and looked around, but saw nothing. A weird feeling crept up into her gut as she neared the plant. She bent down to inspect it and found a card. Inside it had a lock of strawberry blond hair taped to it. Jane didn't need to wonder, she knew it was Maura's hair.

Instantly anger flashed up inside of her. She jumped up and made a second pass over the immediate premises for any sign of anything! But nothing.

She turned to walk back and saw Maura standing there with a horrified expression on her face.

"Who put that there?"

Jane shrugged, "I don't know, Baby. I looked but there's no one."

Maura brought her trembling hand up to her mouth and gasped. "Do you know what kind of tree that is?"

Jane glanced back at it. "Looks like a Christmas tree."

Maura sighed heavily and leaned against the door post. "It's not over, Jane."

"What? What are you talking about?" she asked momentarily forgetting that the card had Maura's hair in it.

"That's a Cupressus sempervirens, a Cypress Tree."

Jane nodded, "Okay… And?"

"Cupressus sempervirens, or the 'Graveyard Cypress' is one of the oldest classical mourning symbols used in Western and Eastern societies…" she said bending down and grabbing the card, only to have her voice choked out seeing her own hair inside, "Known as the 'mournful tree' by the Greeks and the Romans, the tree would be planted by a grave, in front of the house or vestibule as a warning against outsiders entering a place corrupted by a dead body."

"What?" Jane didn't try to hide her surprise. "Please tell me that Google has another representation of this tree, Maur…. Please." Jane cupped her mouth. She was not ready for round two. She was exhausted still and she needed more rest.

"In the Muslim faith, it represents hope and heaven. But despite its cultural interchange, it still remains understood as a symbol of death."

That wasn't what she wanted to hear. "Fuck!" She hissed, "Fuck fuck fuck!" Jane began pacing back and forth, not quite sure what to do with this new information. Should she call Korsak and Nina, or should she call Frankie, or should she call her mother. She didn't know what to do.

During her second mindless pass by Maura, Maura reached out and grabbed Jane, pulling her back into the safety of her arms.

"Shh, its okay, Jane." Maura's soft voice soothed her.

Jane's mind was swirling and unable to focus on anything in particular. It was all too familiar. It was that helpless and impotent feeling that she felt when Maura was held captive. She didn't know what to do, what to say, nor did she know which step to take next. The only thing she knew to do was do whatever she could to protect Maura.

"Let's get inside, Maur and call Korsak. We need to find out who dropped this off."

"But how will we?" Maura said as she stepped over the threshold into the house and locked the door behind her and Jane.

"Well, I abided by your wishes by not putting cameras inside the house, but I did authorize Nina to put some in the shrubs outside."

Maura nodded slowly, accepting the fact that the greater good may come from Jane's executive decision. "Thank you, Jane."

Jane made a quick phone call to Korsak and Nina and told them what happened. Jane sighed and sat down slowly on the couch. Her eyes stayed glued on the door. After a minute Maura sat down with her and draped the covers over them. Suddenly she understood Jane's plight with her need to watch the door.

"May I join you on the couch tonight?"

Jane nodded and fought back her tears.

"Let's watch one of your shows?"

"Okay." Jane nodded and answered quickly.

"Which one, Love?"

"Uhh…" Jane's mind continued to spin, "N.C.I.S"

"Oh I didn't know you liked that show."

"Only because there's this hot chick on there who looks just like you."

Maura chuckled. And flipped on an episode that Jane left off on. She frowned, "I don't think she looks like me at all." She said.

Jane looked from the screen with Agent Kate Todd over to Maura a few times. "Hmm, yeah you're right, you are a hell of a lot sexier than she is."

Maura chuckled and kissed her lightly on the cheek. Her lips lingered there as Maura held her close.

"I'm scared, Jane."

Jane nodded, "Me too, Baby…" She rose up and kissed her lightly on the lips. "I will kill that sonofabitch before he can lay his hands on you… That I can promise."

The sincerity and conviction in her voice gave Maura reason to be hopeful. "And I'll do the same if he tries to hurt you."

They never said another word about the stalker. They just laid there on the couch together, watching Netflix and holding vigil through the night.

* * *

 **Note: Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**\- 5 -  
** (Content Warning - This update is Rated **REALLY M** )

By now, Jane should be used to her "normal" days ending up in complete chaos. Since the very day her life path was crossed with Hoyt's, it has been nothing but shocking plot twist, one after another. Jane often wondered what was so special about her that the gods had to toy with her life like so. Her life seemed like a movie sometimes, or at least like some goddamn primetime drama. What the hell was so special about her? Why her?

"Why me?!" Jane yelled and slammed her hand down on her desk, causing both Maura and Nina to jump nearly out of their skin.

Right now, Jane should be in bed with Maura, holding her and preferably making love, not at the precinct sitting at her fucking desk staring at a pile of blurry images of her suspected stalker. She would have been in bed getting it really good from Maura had he not decided to interrupt their evening.

"Jane," Maura sat down opposite of her and lightly touched her trembling hand.

Jane was thankful that the bullpen was empty tonight with the exception of those whom rubbed shoulders with her on a daily basis. Nina and Korsak both had seen her flip out before. And Maura was used to this private side of Jane that she rarely allowed anyone to see.

It was uncontrolled, uncertain, and erratic. "What?" Jane snapped at her.

Maura squeezed her hand, "It's okay, calm down."

Jane snatched her hand away from Maura and pushed away from her desk. "How can you tell me to calm down? How can you think any of this is okay, Maur?" She gritted through her teeth. She was trying her best not to mindlessly direct her anger at Maura, because Maura was not deserving of it.

"I don't… It's not okay," Maura said rising and walking cautiously over to her girlfriend and touching her lightly again, "but at this moment we cannot identify him."

"But we should be able to!"

"I know…" Maura said softly, "I know."

Jane felt herself cracking under the pressure and she certainly didn't want them to see her like this. She reached and covered her face with her hands attempting to calm herself down.

"I've got to catch this guy, Maur..."

Maura pulled her slightly, and all Jane wanted to do was fall into her arms, but of course she couldn't because they'd been putting up this stupid façade in front of their coworkers and if they displayed any sign of affection right now, their gig would be up.

" _We_ will catch him." Maura's soft voice caressed her, slowly but surely calming her heart down. Maura's voice lowered to a mere whisper, "Sweetie, I promise you, we will find him."

Jane finally gave in and allowed Maura to pull her into her arms. Before she sunk into Maura's embrace she glanced over to see whether or not Korsak and Nina were watching. And they weren't… Well, kinda not.

Jane exhaled and pulled her tighter. "This stalker will be the death of me," she whispered under her breath. And she meant it. If he didn't do it directly, the stress would.

Maura pulled away from her and cupped her face, "Don't ever let me hear you say that again." Her eyes searched Jane's for reasonableness. "Do you understand?"

Jane nodded briskly and squeezed her eyes shut, "Okay, I'm sorry… I'm just freaking out a little bit."

"I know, but that's why I'm here. To hold you together," she whispered and glanced down at Jane's lips.

Jane could tell that Maura wanted to kiss her just about as much as she wanted to kiss her. But they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"There's nothing we can do here." Maura said softly nodding and hoping that Jane got the point.

Jane nodded. This stalker, whoever he may be was not going to drive her insane.

"Okay…" she finally said as she ran her fingers through her hair and walked over to Korsak's desk, "Um, Dr. Isles has kindly brought it to my attention that I'm not helping you guys any by walking around here being a bitch."

Korsak chuckled a bit and Jane narrowed her eyes at him and then challenged Nina to agree with her.

"So I'm going to go home."

"I think that's a good idea, Jane." Korsak said. "Nina and I have this."

Jane nodded and glanced over at Nina, "Thanks for all your hard work, Nina." Jane sighed, "I'm sorry I'm acting like I'm not appreciative of what you do, I just…" She paused and choked back her words. She couldn't help but think of Nina as a female version of Frost. When she met her and saw her skills with the technology, she fell in love, but felt guilty since Nina had replaced Barry. She was smart like him and had so many similarities. Jane would usually sit back and just shake her head thinking about it.

She'd often wondered if Nina hadn't been sent as a guardian angel to look after them all. She was so savvy that Jane often wondered what it would have been like to have both super geeks working with her.

"I understand," Nina said. "I'll let you know when I find something out."

Jane nodded, "Thanks."

"We're getting some help from your friend Agent Dean, Jane, so we're going to find this guy soon." Korsak said in an attempt to encourage her. But it had the opposite effect on her.

Jane sighed heavily. That's all she needed. Her ex Fed boyfriend poking his nose around in this case. "God, Korsak, why him?" she whined.

"Because we need someone we can trust, Jane and since you guys were… You know… an item; I think he has your best interests in mind. Plus he's got higher clearance than we do. We need him."

Jane sighed and looked over at Maura. Jane saw discomfort in her eyes. Maura nodded slowly. "He's right, Jane." She said softly, "Let's go home." She said guiding her in the direction of the door.

"The uniforms will take you girls home and stay posted outside until the morning." Korsak said.

"Thanks." Jane sighed and left the bullpen with Maura. She really didn't say much. There really wasn't anything to say to make this night any better. She thought she'd have a little time to breathe, but the stalker had other plans.

The drive back to Maura's place was excruciatingly quiet. Jane thought of how ironic it was that just earlier that morning, Maura was the quiet one. And now she was the one with little to say. She had so much on her mind. She was worried sick thinking this guy would not stop until he took the one thing that mattered most to her. He'd made that vow, and Jane knew he was going to stay true to it.

Harris was just a minion. He did all the dirty work while Stalker X called the shots. Jane had a gut feeling that once he was unmasked, every inch of her character would be tried and tested. She knew that whoever she was dealing with was very smart; smart enough to figure out that Maura was the center of Jane's world and the fire that kept her spirit burning. Without her, Jane had no reason to…

Jane shook her head, not even wanting to go any further in the thought. Her eyes drifted over to Maura who was gazing quietly out of the window. Jane reached and squeezed her hand, causing her to turn toward her. Maura's eyes drooped with worry. She looked so tired, Jane couldn't wait to curl up with her in bed and sleep the rest of this night away.

"Are you okay?" She whispered.

Jane nodded and smiled, forcing her tears inside. "Yeah, I'm just tired."

"Me too." Maura said as she rested her hand on Jane's thigh.

The car pulled up to Maura's house five minutes later and the officers made sure the house was clear before going back to their car. After they were left alone, Jane plopped down on the couch and put her head into her hands.

"Jane?" Maura called her softly.

Jane looked up and saw Maura waiting for her at the bottom of the staircase. "Oh, I'm coming later." She had to get herself together. Even though she wanted to just fall in bed with Maura, she had to make sure every nook and cranny was checked and double checked. She needed to check the places that the officers didn't know about.

"Please come to bed."

Jane sighed and stood up. "I can't, Maur. I have to check—"

"Check what, Jane?" Maura said walking towards her. "What on Earth do you need to check?" Her voice cracked with emotion as her eyes burned into Jane's, challenging her to give her a reasonable reply. "In case you haven't noticed, everything is locked! I'm a prisoner in my own home!"

Jane shook her head slowly, realizing that they had just eased right into an argument. "I don't know, Maur. Check the back door, the windows, anyplace where he can get in!" She felt stupid for saying it, but she had to make sure.

"When are you ever going to realize that regardless of how many times you check and double check the windows and doors, when he's ready to come for me, he will come!"

"No."

"And we can plan for it but when it happens, we won't be ready… Just like the last time!"

"No…" Jane couldn't bear the thought. Maura had a way of slapping her hard with reality. "I won't let that happen!"

"There's nothing you can do, Jane." Maura grabbed Jane's arms and tugged her closer to her. She just needed to feel her close. "He may be able to control the emails, and the bank accounts, and cameras, but he has no control over us, Jane."

"Yes he does!"

"No he doesn't. He only controls us if we let him."

"No… No…" Jane said pulling away, "I am not going to let him get anywhere near you! I will save you from this."

"I don't need saving, Jane!" She rose her voice; startling Jane into silence. She stared at Jane; her lips trembled with frustration as she held her gaze. "I just need you," she said walking back over to Jane and taking her hands, "and I need our love that is stronger than any force that I've ever known. I need it to get through this… We need it."

Jane's heart rose into her throat. Jane didn't want to admit that she was having doubts of rather or not she could get through this one. She'd thought that it could have been a Hoyt post-mortem plot, but the one thing that made this stand apart was the fact that it was so much more personal. Stalker X wanted Maura dead, because he knew that it would utterly destroy the invincible Detective Jane C. Rizzoli.

Suddenly Jane's mind started flashing back to all those times when Maura's life was in danger and how she'd shown up at just the right time in order to save her; particularly the time when that motherfucker Dennis had a knife to Maura's throat. Jane could see the fear in her eyes as she pleaded with him for her life. If it was up to her, she would have just shot Dennis dead on the floor, but of course she feared she'd hurt Maura in the process.

All those times, she was there…

She began to breathe heavily as her brain entertained the thought of not being able to catch him and Maura's death resulting in her failure. And of the reason that Maura's life was in danger mainly because of the fact that Jane loved her. Her system couldn't handle the overload of emotions that washed though her.

Jane clamped her teeth tightly together and peered into her girlfriend's beautiful eyes.

"He will stop at nothing until he kills you, Baby… Don't you understand that?" It hurt her just to say that. "He… will… kill… you." Jane labored through her breathing while she stood there holding Maura's gaze.

Maura's eyes pooled with tears as she nodded briskly and bared a smile in an attempt to disarm Jane's heated emotions. "I know…" She whispered ever so lightly. "But…what good is it just lying down and waiting for him to come and get me, Jane?"

Jane lowered her eyes.

"Please, answer me…"

Jane groaned and turned her back, her heart couldn't bear much more of this conversation. She turned back to her, her body trembling with a combination of fear and indignation. "He will not touch you again. I will not rest until I kill him first."

Maura nodded. She knew Jane was telling the truth. And if she hadn't learned anything during the six years that Jane and she had been friends, she definitely learned that Jane was one strong willed woman. Stalker X had met his match…

Maura embraced her and placed a soft and tender kiss on Jane's lips. She released Jane's lips but kept hers firmly pressed against Jane's, accepting Jane's breath as her own. Her warm breath danced across Jane's lips as Jane's arms wrapped around her securely.

"I love you…" Maura whispered.

"I love you too."

With one last kiss, she pulled away from Jane. Jane stared at her for a minute before she turned off and went to check the other doors and windows in the house. Maura just stood there watching her, never saying a word.

When Jane came back into the living room area, she pointed off down the hallway. "I…Uh, I'm going to stay downstairs tonight." She said quietly.

Maura nodded slowly and stepped out of her way. Jane slowly walked passed her, pausing briefly to place a soft kiss on her cheek. Maura turned to watch her walk away. Before she entered the guest bedroom Jane turned and looked at her. Jane looked so tired. She couldn't possibly be thinking straight. She entered the guest room and shut the door behind her.

* * *

Jane shrugged over to the bed and sighed heavily. She didn't want to argue with Maura anymore. She'd much rather just sleep downstairs than risk fighting over it again. She couldn't believe she'd fucked that up majorly, but she was too tired to think about it right now. Knowing Maura, she'd go to her bedroom and sleep off any displeasure she had and she'd wake up the next morning refreshed and chipper, never speaking about the previous argument ever again.

Jane was so lucky to have such a forgiving partner who never kept account of how many times Jane upset her; which is why she had to find that guy and kill him dead. She groaned and kicked off her boots and sat down on the edge of the bed and closed her eyes.

The bedroom door opened and before she could draw her weapon, Maura stepped into view. Maura kept her eyes on Jane, as she closed the door with her body and engaged the lock. She stood there momentarily, before fixing a chair against the door. She turned back to Jane and sighed.

"Jane..." She called her name softly.

Jane nodded and swallowed hard as Maura moved away from the door. She crossed the room and stood in front of Jane.

Jane gazed up into her eyes and sighed. She felt embarrassed about the argument a few minutes ago. She just wanted to forget it even happened and just go to sleep. Jane's eyes blazed with so many emotions as she stared at Maura.

Maura reached out and stroked the locks of hair that fell in Jane's face. She slowly reached around and pulled the scrunchee off of Jane's ponytail, releasing Jane's unruly mane in one quick pull. Jane shook her curls loose with the flick of her hand and continued to look at Maura.

Maura moved closer, slowly and cautiously while she strummed her fingers through Jane's hair. Her fingers caressed the backside of her ears while her thumbs caressed her lips. Jane couldn't stop the trembles from passing through her body as Maura moved closer to her.

Jane reached up and took hold of Maura's slim waist, pulling her closer against her. Maura exhaled deeply as she pulled Jane's head into the comfort of her soft breasts. Jane relaxed in her arms, closing her eyes with relief because she knew that Maura was not upset with her.

"I don't want to be alone tonight." Maura whispered and kissed the top of Jane's head. "I'm sorry I yelled at you…" Maura sighed, "You didn't deserve that."

Jane just nodded. She couldn't speak. She was overwhelmed by the sensation of her lover's body pressing against hers and her fingers running though her hair.

"I don't want to be alone either…"

Maura pulled away slowly and smiled down at Jane. Jane knew that smile and she was happy to see it. Maura reached and tugged at Jane's hoodie and pulled it off of her. Jane in turn, pulled Maura's tank top off of her and placed it on the floor next to her. She reached around and unsnapped Maura's bra and pulled off her bra.

Maura's breath escaped her as her breasts were exposed to the cool air of the room. Her nipples hardened immediately and Jane's eye lit up to the sight.

"I'm so sorry I yelled too…" Jane whispered as her eyes devoured Maura's breasts. Maura caressed Jane's face and smiled back at her.

Her fingers tightened around Jane's head and pulled it in the direction of her awaiting nipples. Jane's hands slid up Maura's back and she brought her nails gently back down her back as her mouth latched on to one of them.

Her tongue swirled the hardened nipple in her mouth, bouncing it around while nibbling it gently.

"Mmm," Maura moaned softly.

Jane wasn't even slightly aware that Maura was leaning against her, pushing her down onto the bed until gravity pulled her down. She landed roughly with Maura on top of her. Maura cried out softly because Jane still had her mouth (and teeth) attached to her nipple.

"Oh, sorry…" Jane exhaled. Her eyes locked with Maura's as Maura reached down and slid her hand inside of Jane's sweats. "Oh Maura," Jane moaned softly.

Maura's lips found Jane's sweet spot on her neck and kissed her slowly while she slid her fingers inside of her.

"I missed this." She whispered into Jane's ear.

"Yeah?"

"Yes… So much," She cooed, dipping her fingers as deep as they would go inside.

"Fuck…"

"Slide up." Maura coached her so she could have more room to work with. "I want you so badly."

"I want you too," Jane said as she settled near the head of the bed.

Maura climbed up and straddled Jane, moving her hips in a way that caused Jane's blood to rise.

Maura's expert and soft lips kissed Jane's neck, slowly descending to the places that Jane loved to be kissed; her neck, her shoulders, and her arms. Maura took her time, knowing that once she made it to the breasts and stomach, Jane would be thrown into a fit of passion quite quickly.

Jane was heating up quicker than Maura had anticipated. It had to be a combination of the stress and the argument they had, because Maura was almost certain that Jane could probably climax before she even reached her clit…

"I'm so stressed, Baby." Jane exhaled.

"I know…" Maura whispered. Her tongue snaking down and around the side of Jane's breast, dancing lightly across her almond colored nipple before moaning and sucking it into her mouth.

Jane's hands laced through Maura's hair and held her head while she sucked Jane's breast.

"God that feels good, Baby." Jane licked her lips and moaned softly. "You're so good to me."

Maura moved over to the next one and gave it similar treatment. Jane's hips began circling against Maura's belly as she pulled her head downward.

Maura kissed her way slowly down until she had reached to band of Jane's sweats. She licked Jane softly there, dipping her tongue underneath, teasing her a bit. She kissed her way over the fabric of Jane's pants and settled her mouth right over Jane's pulsating pussy.

She blew a hot breath on it, tantalizing Jane's trembling clit on the inside. Jane whimpered as Maura proceeded to kiss Jane through the fabric of her pants, increasing her anticipation even more.

"Mmm," Jane moaned softly as her body met Maura's lips. Maura was so skilled at her oral technique that Jane was ready to explode. Her pants were wet with Maura's kisses. She grabbed Maura's hair and grinded her body against Maura's mouth in an attempt to increase the friction.

Maura moved up and grabbed the waist band of Jane's sweats with her teeth. Jane looked down at her as she proceeded to pull off Jane's pants with her teeth. This feat alone impressed the hell out of Jane. She couldn't wait to feel that beautiful tongue on her clit.

After Maura had freed Jane from her pants, she worked her way back to the object of her affection. Jane's fingers were clenched in Maura's hair, pulling it slightly towards her.

"You're so good to me," she repeated as she continued to tug Maura upward towards her awaiting goodness.

Jane was on fire and she was ready for Maura. After what seemed like hours, Maura finally made there, latching on ever so gently while sliding her tongue over it, being sure that her taste buds not only tasted, but also stroked Jane's trembling clit.

"Oh… Maur…" She pulled her firmly against her while thrusting herself deep into Maura's mouth, "Fuck, yeah…"

"Mmm," Maura cooed as she reached and parted Jane so her tongue could cascade over the entire breadth of her pussy.

Jane's body began to tremble softly while Maura made deep strokes of her tongue, swooping down and dipping inside of Jane while as her lips closed around her pulsating clit.

Jane's fingers trembled as she held on to Maura's soft hair while her head slowly moved up and down and from side to side. Jane's legs fell open as Maura repositioned herself with Jane's legs draped over her shoulders.

Jane was so tense. She needed her release…

Maura could feel the heat in Jane's clit as it got harder in her mouth. "Mmm, my baby is close…" Maura cooed.

"Oh…Mmm... Maybe…"

Without skipping a beat Maura reached over and pulled the "Big Boss" out from the nightstand drawer. Jane wasn't even aware that Maura had it until she breached her with the tip. Jane was completely as Maura's mercy. With her legs pulled over Maura's shoulders, there was nothing that she could do to control anything Maura was doing. And she didn't want to either.

With her lips latched onto Jane, she slowly slid it inside of Jane, double stimulating her deserving lover.

Jane's fingers pulled Maura's hair, forcing herself deeper into her mouth. Her body trembled as Maura pushed the vibrating member deeper into her until she found a rhythm that stroked Jane's G-spot. Maura knew exactly where it was too. She had been the only lover to ever find Jane's elusive spot.

"That's it." Jane gasped as she started moving her hips to deepen the penetration.

Maura didn't let up on the licks either. Jane's love was dripping down her chin as she discerned that she was about to lose control. Suddenly she released Jane from the grips of her mouth and maneuvered quickly and lay on her back.

She placed the "Big Boss" against her own clit and in between her legs. Pulling Jane on top of her she made her straddle her.

"Get on it." She ordered her. "Now."

Without hesitation, Jane got on it, sliding down it slowly. Maura held it secure in between her legs, a trick that she'd mastered over time. She held Jane on her and squeezed her ass, while Jane rode her. Jane's pace was fast as first, and then she slowed down as Maura pulled herself up against the headboard.

Jane leaned in and kissed Maura slowly, her tongue reaching out and dancing with Maura's. Maura had that same drunken look in her eyes as she held Jane's gaze.

"You're so beautiful." Maura whispered to her. She felt her orgasm coming on like a freight train but she held it off. Her eyes traveled down and saw Jane's beautiful pussy riding the hell out of the "Big Boss" and she couldn't help but be envious. Wanting to feel her inside.

Jane's entire body trembled. It was hitting her g-spot so hard that she was losing her mind. "Maura… Yes…" She wrapped her arms around Maura's neck and tensed up in Maura's arms.

Maura kissed Jane's neck and licked the sweat off of her face. "That's it. Do it for me…" she whispered, coaching Jane to allow her climax to come.

Jane trembled and cried out softly in Maura's ear. Out of the two of them, Jane was the quieter one. Her head snapped back as her eyes gazed at the ceiling. Maura looked up at her and smiled, placing soft kisses on her chest. She knew her woman well and she knew she was not done. She laid Jane down onto her back and removed the "Boss", slowly sliding her body against Jane's.

Jane trembled as she locked gazes with her beloved Maura.

"Don't ever leave me," Jane whispered.

"I won't…" Maura said leaning in and kissing her passionately while grinding Jane's body with her own. Maura had held back her orgasm for too long now and it was eager to come. Jane wrapped her legs around Maura and pulled her in.

Their bodies smashed and slipped together as they were so accustomed to doing. Jane could climax several times to Maura's one. They were very creative with their techniques but in the end, they wanted to climax together. There was something enlightening about a communal orgasm that drew them closer together.

Maura's lips captured Jane's and kissed her beautiful woman slowly and passionately.

"I love you." Maura whispered, her body tensing on the edge of a powerful orgasm.

"I love you too." Jane replied.

Through the sounds of their love mixing together, Jane heard the faint sound of her cell phone buzzing, but she ignored it as she felt her second orgasm coming on strong.

"Jane…" Maura whimpered as she buried her head into the crook of Jane's neck, "Jane…" she continued to whimper her name as her speed picked up. Her volume picked up too as her cries started piercing Jane's eardrums.

Jane was so flattered that she could cause this side to the reserved and quiet doctor to come out. Jane's second orgasm gripped her, coming and passing quietly off the scene as she held on and waited for the Good Doctor's orgasm to trickle away.

"Oh… God…Mmmm… Aghh… Jane…. Fuck!" Maura cried out as her pulled Jane's legs up higher to maximize the friction. "Yes, Baby… You feel so good," A moment later she couldn't speak anymore, for her climax had drained her of everything she had. She collapsed into Jane's awaiting arms, whimpering softly as Jane placed soft kisses on her face. Eventually Maura rolled over and pulled Jane into her arms. They kissed softly, ignoring the fact that Jane's cell phone was continually ringing.

"Maybe you should answer that." Maura sighed and chuckled.

Jane groaned and reached over, retrieving the phone.

"Rizzoli?" She answered with her customary greeting.

A long period of silence followed, causing Maura to rise up and look at her. Jane looked over at her and swallowed hard.

"Thanks for letting me know." She said quietly and hung up the phone.

"What's wrong?" Maura asked.

Jane stared at her for a long time. "That was Korsak… Uh…" she said sitting up in the bed, "They said think they got the stalker. They're bringing him down to the station."

-To be Continued-

* * *

 **Note: Thanks for reading! Pardon my typos. I tried to catch them and will edit them out if I find them.**


	6. Chapter 6

**-6-**

Korsak met Jane and Maura at the door. The look on his face let Jane know that this wasn't going to be as easy as she thought it was going to be.

"Jane, wait," he said blocking her way to the interview room.

Jane stepped back and rolled her eyes, "Wait for what? You have this sonofabitch, now I want to go talk to him."

"I understand your eagerness," Korsak said sternly, "but you need to prepare yourself for a moment." Korsak said looking over at Maura. "You both do."

Jane glanced at Maura and then back at Korsak. "What does that mean?"

"I don't need you roughing up another suspect. We don't need any lawsuits, Jane."

Jane sighed and took a brief second to "prepare herself". One second was enough though. Jane ran her trembling fingers through her hair and shook her head, "I'm prepared, now please excuse me, Korsak," she said pushing past him and bursting into the room.

Jane stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the person who Dean had brought to her. She stood there staring at a very familiar face. Jane had thought that she would be ready for just about anything but she wasn't ready for this.

"You've gotta be kidding me," she groaned and shook her head. "Are you sure, Dean?"

Agent Dean stepped around the table and motioned for Jane to take a seat in the interrogator's chair. "We matched the digital sample that Detective Holiday sent us. It's definitely him."

Jane turned towards the two-way mirror and stared where she knew Maura was standing. She didn't try to hide the shocked expression on her face. The person who was possibly responsible for terrorizing Jane was connected to none other than Paddy Doyle.

Jane nodded and turned back around to face him, "Why me?" Jane asked him.

Agent Dean took his seat next to her and pulled out the images of him delivering the tree. "Why did you deliver this tree to Dr. Isles' house?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said.

Previously an unnamed face, Bobby O'Rear was just a grunt doing the dirty work for Paddy. When Paddy was shot by Jane, the grunts scattered all over Boston.

Jane snatched the photo from Dean and slammed it down in front of him, "We know this is you. Now tell us why you did it!"

Bobby sat back and sighed.

"You're facing a long list of federal charges, Bobby, including Arson and attempted murder." Dean said plainly, "You'll have a nice comfy bed at SuperMax when we're done with you."

This got a rise out of him, "Hey, no…I… I didn't burn up anything and I definitely didn't try to murder nobody."

"Then tell us why you delivered this tree." Dean said.

Bobby laughed nervously. "You arrested me for delivering a tree? What's the crime in that?"

"Why did you deliver the tree? Did Paddy put you up to it?" Jane asked.

"What? No!"

"Then who did?!" Jane yelled.

Her voice startled him and his lips started shaking. "Look I don't know what you're talking about. I just got an order to deliver flowers at first and then the order got changed to that tree. That's all I know."

"So you're into floral deliveries now?" Jane asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, I am. Since Paddy got put away, I just been doing some different things, you know."

"Hmm, okay. Why would you deliver it so late? I don't know of any self-respecting florist that delivers that late." Jane said.

"I had the original order in stock, the spring mix, but then he called back and changed it to the tree and said that it was very important to deliver it before midnight."

"Go on."

"So I had to call around to see who had it. I found a shop down in Providence, so I drove down to get it. And I delivered it when I got back."

"Providence, Rhode Island?" Jane asked.

"Yeah."

"You expect us to believe that you drove a two hour round trip just for a tree that you needed to deliver?"

"Yeah, I mean. It's the truth. He paid me extra to make sure I delivered."

"How much?"

"When he came in and paid, he prepaid for the flowers and the expedited shipping."

"What did this customer look like?" She asked.

"I don't remember. He was a plain looking white guy. Kinda tall. He had on sunglasses. And a baseball cap. I think his hair might have been blond or grey."

"That doesn't give us much to go on." Jane said.

"I know and I'm sorry. It was so busy that day."

"How much extra did he pay you, Bobby?" Dean asked.

Bobby sighed, "He paid me three hundred dollars to deliver that night."

"Three hundred dollars?" Jane gasped.

"Yeah."

"And you didn't find that at all strange?" Jane said.

Bobby shrugged, "I mean no, but I thought it was a blessing for turning my life around, you know?"

Jane sighed and sat back against her chair. She was getting upset again. "Why the hell should we believe you." Jane gritted through her teeth. All she wanted to do was choke him.

"You don't have to believe me, but I'm telling the truth I swear."

Agent Dean stood up and sighed, "Sorry, we're not buying this. Robert O'Rear, you're being placed under arrest."

"No, no please." Bobby started begging. "I swear I didn't do anything wrong. I have a kid, you know. Look!" He said pulling out his locket necklace and opening it. "I've changed, you gotta believe me. I changed for her." He said turning the locket so Jane and Agent Dean could see the picture of his little girl. "I have the flower business to make a living so I don't have to do stuff like that again. So my daughter will have her daddy with her, you know? Please! I swear I'm telling the truth."

"You want us to believe that a hardened criminal like you has settled for something as soft as floral deliveries?" Jane laughed. "Sell that bullshit to someone else." Jane was thoroughly frustrated. This new development was definitely unsettling.

Why did he have to be connected to someone who'd nearly torn her and Maura apart before? God, why Paddy Doyle of all people!

As Jane glared at the trembling Bobby O'Rear, she knew in her gut that he was not the one. And this tore her up inside. It tore her up thinking that her lover's father could be the one who had been terrorizing her. But why would he? Why would he have Maura kidnapped? Why would he go to such extremes? Jane hadn't done anything to cross him, especially not recently since they'd been on somewhat of a cordial level because they both loved Maura.

Jane's phone buzzed with a message from Nina.

She rose out of her seat and motioned for Agent Dean to join her in the hallway. They joined Nina, Korsak and Maura by the two way mirror.

"His story checks out, Jane." Korsak said.

"He used his cell phone the entire way down to Providence and back." Nina said.

"Who was he talking to?"

"His wife."

"Fuck…" Jane groaned.

"And we checked his records for deliveries and cross referenced them with the invoices. And we found this," Nina said handing Jane a printout.

Jane scanned over it quickly and rolled her eyes, "Our lovely cash paying customer who calls himself John Dough?" She shook her head in disbelief, "Really?"

"Yes." Nina replied.

"So he is telling the truth." Jane said confirming her gut feeling. She turned and observed him for a few short minutes. He clasped his necklace in his hands and kissed it repeatedly. "I am so tired of this..."

"Do you think this is a coincidence that he was one of Paddy's grunts?" Korsak said.

Jane shook her head slowly. "I've learned that there are no coincidences." She sighed heavily and looked down at the ground. "We need to talk to Paddy."

Maura, who'd been quiet this entire time, spoke up. "Why would you need to talk to him, Jane?"

Jane turned slowly and met her eyes. She tread very carefully on this subject. Thinking back on when they became frenemies over Paddy, made her wish to never return to that dark period in their lives. The shooting of Paddy happened right before they started dating secretly. They'd been on the verge of making some strides in their new-found love when Paddy stepped in and wedged them apart.

Jane acted on pure instinct. It was her instinct as a cop to neutralize a threatening situation, and it was her instinct as a human to protect herself. She knew Paddy would have shot her dead had she not shot him first.

After it all happened, Maura refused to discuss it with her. And they became official enemies. That was the most painful period of her life to date, because although Maura was so close to her, and working in the same building, and occupying the same space; they couldn't have been any further apart.

"Because our friend Bobby works for him." Jane said quickly.

"Used to," Maura said, "Detective Holiday said his story checks out. This has to be a coincidence, Jane. Why go there?"

Jane frowned. She could not believe Maura was going to challenge her in front of the other detectives on her decision! She knew she was acting out of character because it was Paddy. Any other person she wouldn't care. Paddy was still a sensitive topic between her and Jane. In fact, the only times when Jane and Maura would ever get truly upset was when speaking about Paddy and Casey. And that was it.

"I'm going there," Jane said walking up to Maura and peering into her eyes, "Because there are no coincidences in my book, Maura, and it's my job," She succeeded in keeping the irritation out of her voice. "Please understand that and respect my decision, okay?" Her voice was firm, but also soft as she spoke to her girlfriend. She didn't want Paddy to be the source of any more disquieting feelings between the two of them.

They'd just made beautiful love; Maura making sure that she'd taken away all of Jane's stress. Jane was aware of this and she was so thankful to have someone like her in her life. She was not going to allow Paddy or anyone else to come between them.

After a moment of staring into Jane's eyes, Maura finally nodded and yielded to Jane's decision to go and question her father.

"Thanks," Jane said touching her lightly on the arm. She turned back towards the interrogation room and took one last glance of Bobby. She was going to find whoever was terrorizing her if it was the last thing she would do. Only then could she really start living.

Agent Dean left the room first, and then Jane and Maura followed behind. Maura didn't necessarily need to go with her, but she felt compelled to do so. She needed to know also if her father was responsible. And if it came out that he was the one behind the terror and her abduction, she would need to be close to Jane more than anything.

* * *

Jane sat in front of Paddy Doyle, trying her best to keep her cool, but the way he just stared at her and pretended to know nothing was really getting to her. She wondered how he could sit there with a straight face. Here she was thinking that maybe this one had changed for Maura's sake. It burned her up knowing how hurt she was going to be. It had to be Paddy. He was a crime boss after all. Jane shouldn't have expected anything more from him.

"I will say it again…" Paddy said coolly, "I did not send any flowers or plants to Maura's house."

Jane rolled her eyes and shifted her weight in her chair. She looked over at Maura whose expression was very hard to read still. She'd had this really strange look on her face since the moment they walked into the room and took their seats. She just stared at Paddy, her eyes searching his and examining his body language.

"He's lying," Jane blurted out. "You're lying." She said to him. Her eyes burned holes through Paddy's head. If looks could kill, Paddy would already be gone.

"Why would I lie, Jane?"

"That's Detective Rizzoli to you." She growled.

Paddy nodded, "Okay then, Detective Rizzoli… Why would I lie? I actually like you now. Why would I have someone terrorize Maura's girlfriend?"

Agent Dean looked up in response to that question and looked over at Jane.

Jane's breathing was heavy as she narrowed her eyes and held his gaze. She fought a feeling that crept up into her stomach. She reached down and hugged her stomach as she sat back into her seat. Her eyebrow arched, her mind was violently battling with her heart over this moment. Her brain wanted her to believe he was guilty and finally be at peace, but her heart wouldn't allow her to believe it.

"Why would I kidnap and abuse my own daughter. Why would I do that?" Paddy looked over at Maura who was staring at him, looking so much like her mother as she did. No doubt she was as torn as Jane was. "I'm not responsible, Maura. This has to be a coincidence."

"Enough!" Jane slammed her hand down and pushed away from the table, "Enough with this coincidence bullshit!" She said stalking over towards Paddy.

Paddy looked up at her defiantly. A slight smile played on the side of his lip. This incensed Jane. Before Agent Dean or Maura could even react, Jane reached over and took Paddy by the neck.

"What in the hell is so funny huh, Paddy?" Jane gritted through her teeth, her eyes were mere inches away from his.

"Jane, let him go," Agent Dean said calmly.

But of course Jane was not listening to him. She trembled with anger and she tightened her fingers around his neck.

"I will end you," she hissed.

Paddy put up a good front of defiance, but he was completely at Jane's mercy. His hands were tied… Literally. His face began to turn red from being denied valuable oxygen.

"You've got the... wrong man, Jane." Paddy choked out.

Jane's eyes had grown dark with anger as her fingers continued to tighten around Paddy's neck. Her heart and mind continued to battle. She'd never seen Maura's eyes in his before until this moment. Maybe she'd never been this close to him, but suddenly she saw the striking resemblance of the two.

"Maura…" Paddy croaked out, "Get-your-girl … off of me." He struggled to breathe and talk at the same time.

"Jane, stop it!" Maura's sharper than normal voice cut straight through the mental fog that Jane was in. When she placed her hand on Jane's arm, it further severed her from it. "Let Paddy go, Jane."

Maura's voice was softer. She knew Jane could easily choke him but she also knew that Jane was far too good to perform such a cold-blooded act.

By then the doors swung open and the prison security stood there watching her. Jane's eyes fluttered as her mind returned to her. After a few long seconds, she clamped her jaw tightly closed and shoved him away from her.

Paddy coughed and gagged while trying to catch his breath. Jane's eyes bounced around the room, from the guards to Agent Dean to Maura. The room began to spin as the reality of what she'd just done started to sink in.

The guards came into the room, signaling that it was time for Jane and the rest to cut their visit short.

Jane just stood there, staring at the ground, silently cursing herself for losing it like that. She knew Paddy was telling the truth.

It was a really weird coincidence…

Jane finally unglued herself from that spot and slowly walked towards the door. Paddy continued to cough as she walked by him. She refused to apologize, but damn it she felt bad for choking Maura's old man.

She was certain that she'd hear about it later from Maura. Or at least she was certain that they'd fight about it. She was just tired. Tired of the stalker and tired of the bullshit that came with it.

Eventually Paddy's coughs were replaced with a low chuckle. "You know," He began, "I'd love to be a fly on the wall when you catch whoever you're looking for." He laughed as he rose from his seat and allowed the guards to take him away.

Jane groaned and fought back a wave of nauseous tears that appeared out of nowhere. "Back to square one…" she said to no one in particular. There had to be something she was missing; something that she'd been overlooking, but her mind was too clouded to even think about it right now.

She didn't even want to look Maura in the eyes. The shame was too intense, but she knew she was right there beside her.

"Come on, Jane." She whispered as she slipped her hand through the crook of her elbow and pulled her in the direction of the door. "Let's go back and have some coffee in my office, and then we'll look more into this ."

Jane turned in the direction of Maura's voice and her eyes met Maura's. They were so soft and reassuring. Jane had just tried to choke the life out of the person who'd given Maura life, and yet this time, Maura stuck by her.

"Yeah… I could use some coffee." She said softly.

"Good. Let's go." Maura said gently as she led Jane out of the visitors' room.

* * *

Jane sipped slowly on her cup of coffee. This was exactly what she needed; a nice quiet space, coffee, and Maura. She'd never flipped so badly before and it honestly scared the hell out of her.

"Are you okay, Love?" Maura whispered as she sat beside her. The morgue was as quiet as it should be considering it was full of dead people. But at the wee hour of 4 am, it was especially quiet.

"Not really."

Maura put her arm around her and squeezed her tightly. She placed a soft kiss on her cheek. "Talk to me."

Jane sighed and looked at her. "I'm so sorry for what I did to Paddy." Jane looked down at her cup and squeezed her eyes shut. She wanted to hurt him so badly, but a part of her wouldn't allow her to do it because Maura was a part of him.

"Well, I'm sure you're not the only one who's tried to choke the life out of him." She chuckled softly.

Jane opened her eyes and looked at her. She smiled and laughed. Maura always knew how to make her feel better.

"You're right about that. I thought you'd hate me again." She said placing her cup down on the coffee table.

"Oh, Jane…" Maura sighed heavily and leaned her head against Jane's shoulder. "I could never hate you."

"I mean royally pissed off like you were before." Jane whispered and kissed her lightly on the head.

"That was a different period of time in our lives, Jane. And I would never return to those feelings that I had about you at that moment."

"Yeah you were pretty upset."

"Yes I was," she said lightly, "But many things have changed since then. Including us."

Jane nodded. "You're right about that."

Maura rose up and looked at her. "If we find out who ordered the flowers, we find our guy, Love."

"Yeah, you're right."

"He may be smart, but he's not smarter than Jane C. Rizzoli."

Jane sighed, "Thanks, Maur…" She gazed longingly into Maura's eyes. There is where she found strength and courage. "I have a nagging fear that I'm not going to know what to do when that time comes."

Maura nodded and pressed her forehead against Jane's. Her fingers strummed through Jane's hair as she pulled her closer. "You always know what to do, Jane."

Jane nodded; a thin stream of tears escaped her eye. "Thank you, Baby…" she whispered against Maura's lips.

"And I'm so proud to be with you. And to be loved by you." She kissed her softly on the tip of the nose and smiled at her. "We're going to get through this together."

"Yes we will."

Maura leaned in slowly and captured Jane's lips, kissing her tenderly. Her thumb move gracefully over Jane's cheek, swiping her tears away. To taste the lips of her lover is what made Maura's heart happy all the time. Jane's trembling lips kissed her softly as Maura's fingers ran through her hair.

"I love you," Maura whispered before taking her lips again with a soft and slow kiss.

"I love you too." Jane sighed into the kiss. Maura's feather soft kisses calmed her agitated spirit and she enjoyed them so much.

There was a light knock on Maura's open door, causing them both to jump out of their skin. Maura rose quickly from her seat and smoothed out her garment. Jane decided to play it cool and not make a big issue out of being caught. She turned around and leaned against the back of the couch and smiled.

"Hey Nina, what's up?"

"Um… Hi." Nina started, obviously embarrassed for walking in on their intimate moment.

"Hi." Jane smiled her pearly whites and arched her eyebrow, "What's up?"

"Oh… We found something in the recorded call records from Bobby O'Rear's floral shop."

"Oh?" Jane said standing up and walking toward the door, "What did you find?" Jane turned and tipped her head at Maura, telling her to follow them back up to Brick.

It took just a couple of awkward minutes for the three of them to reach and when they got there Nina took her place at her computer.

"Thankfully Bobby O'Rear has records of his calls during business hours. We captured this audio."

They all listened to the male voice requesting the change that Bobby had sworn to. That was good at least.

"Now, right away I noticed that his voice sounded almost mechanical in nature." Nina continued.

"Yeah it sounds like that to me too. Why?" Jane asked.

"Because it is. It seems like he used a text calling app coupled with a voice changing app and called in."

"Hmm… Okay. Can you find this guy with what you have, Nina?"

She nodded, "I'm most certain that I can."

"You see, he's very smart, but he's going to fuck up eventually."

"Okay. I'll start running some traces and see if this number pinged off of any towers near or around."

"Okay." Jane simply said.

She turned around and saw Maura and forced a smile from creeping across her face. Maura didn't look worried or nervous. She actually seemed pretty unaffected by the fact that Nina had walked in on them kissing. Maura smiled and nodded and joined Korsak and Agent Dean by the displays.

Jane took the opportunity to catch Nina privately. She came and stood beside her. Nina looked up from her computer and smiled.

"Hey…Nina," Jane started.

"Hey?"

Jane shifted her weight on her feet and cleared her throat. "Dr. Isles and I are… Um…" She sighed and tried again, "We're actually keeping things private and –"

Nina reached over and touched her hand softly, "I am sorry that I interrupted you two. What you have going on is none of my business and I'll make sure it stays that way." She smiled and winked at Jane.

Jane smiled and chuckled. "Alright. Thanks, Nina."

"You're very welcome."

Jane turned to join the others when Nina called after her. She turned back to her, "What's up?"

"You two are a cute couple," she whispered and gave her a thumb's up.

Jane laughed and walked away. She joined the rest of them and caught up with the conversation.

"So we're going to monitor Bobby's phones and send in some undercovers just in case this guy is dumb enough to come back." Agent Dean said.

Jane fought the urge to put her arm around Maura. Maura was right, it was harder now to pretend to be "just friends." She wanted to touch her all the time. She had to occupy her hands some way.

"Hey is anyone hungry?" Jane asked the group.

Everyone agreed, including Nina from the other room. "Good, I'm going to go down to the cafe and make some sandwiches. I still have Ma's key."

Everyone cheered and went back to processing the data from the floral shop. Jane had been gone only a couple of minutes before she came running back into the bullpen at full speed. She nearly slipped on her way in through the door but held it together.

The look on her face was enough to show everyone that something was up. She snapped her finger at Nina and made the sign to trace her call. She took her place in front of the others and switched on the speakerphone.

"How did you get my number?" Jane asked the caller.

There was that same eerie mechanical voice on the other end, chuckling. "Oh, you will be amazed at what I can do, Jane."

"Who are you?" she asked, her eyes bounced over at Maura's and witnessed fright wash over her face.

"Soon your smart friends will find out, I'm sure."

"Why cover up your voice. What are you afraid of?" Jane's heart raced in her chest as she waited for him reply.

"I fear nothing."

Jane had to admit. The voice was creepy as hell. She tapped her watch at Nina and Nina shook her head. She needed more time to perform an accurate trace.

"Why me?" Jane asked.

"It doesn't feel good does it, Jane?"

"What?"

An evil chuckle, "To have everything taken away from you. It doesn't feel good, does it?"

"No." Jane looked over at Korsak who was busy typing on the computer. One way or another they were going to get this bastard.

Nina held up two fingers, which signaled that she just needed two more minutes.

"Whatever." Jane hissed.

"How does it feel to have the one you love taken from you? Hmm, Jane?"

Jane looked over at Maura and shook off her uneasiness. All she needed was one more goddamn minute!

"How did it feel to know that you failed her?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

The man laughed and sighed. "Okay, you can play ignorant if you want, Jane."

"What do you want?"

There was a long paused on the other line. Jane was happy because the longer he paused the quicker they could get to him.

"I want you to feel as much pain as you made me feel."

Jane's heart clenched inside of her chest.

"You took away the one thing that I've ever cared about in this life. And I promise you, I will do the same to you."

The phone disconnected. Jane spun around quickly. Nina nodded and motioned that she was sending the location to the Detectives' cell phones.

Agent Dean was already on the phone calling in his backup.

"We got him," Korsak says, "Let's go!" He ordered them. Korsak and Agent Dean bolted out of the door and Jane quickly ran after them.

She stopped before she could escape out of the door, realizing that she was leaving Maura in her dust. She turned around and sighed.

"I'm sorry, I have to go." Jane said racing back over to her and taking her into her arms.

"I know. Please be careful, Jane."

Jane nodded, "I will. I promise." She started to walk away again not wanting to waste one more minute. But she turned back and kissed Maura firmly on the lips. "Stay here. I'll be back."

Maura nodded briskly and took another kiss.

"I gotta go, Baby." She said pulling away. It almost hurt to pull away, but she had to. She had to put an end to this madness.

"Go… Just go, Jane!" Maura pushed her out of the door.

Maura stood there and watched as Jane disappeared onto the elevator. Her heart felt overwhelmed. She was ready for this to be over too.

She joined Nina at her desk and sighed. "Could you use some company?"

Nina nodded and motioned for Maura to take a seat. "I sure can." She said softly. She watched Maura's worry intensify on her face and she knelt down in front of her and took her hand. "Don't worry about her, Dr. Isles. You have one badass girlfriend."

Maura smiled and chuckled. "Yes, she is a badass. Thank you, Nina."

"If anyone can catch this guy, Detective Rizzoli can."

Maura nodded and sighed. Nina was right. The stalker was smart but he wasn't smarter than Jane. What worried Maura most was the fact that he had a personal vendetta against Jane.

"Yes, Jane will get him..."

* * *

 **Note: Sorry for any typos or errors. I'll correct them if I come across them. Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

**-7-**

Jane had a terrible feeling that this was a trap. The more she thought about it, the more she began to feel that it was too easy. Way too easy to be exact. There was a really weird feeling in the pit of her stomach that made her want to leave and go back to the station.

But she forced herself to press on in order to find this crazy lunatic who was terrorizing her. She pressed her back against the wall and took a deep breath. She looked over at Agent Dean and nodded her head. Gabriel motioned for Korsak to move in and take position at the door.

A thin sliver of light came from underneath the door. Jane couldn't discern any movement or any noise at all; which made her extremely uneasy. And on the count of three, Korsak kicked in the door and they all stormed the room.

Immediately it became evident that it was in fact a trick. No one was there. There was only a filthy mattress in the corner, some newspapers scattered about and a plastic milk crate turned upside down sitting in the middle of the floor. Upon closer inspection Jane saw the photos of Maura that Harris had taken of her when he held her captive and a small digital audio player.

She reached and pressed the "play" button and heard sounds of people scuffling, and then she heard Harris' venomous voice ordering Maura to be still; fabric ripping, and indistinct and muffled sounds follow by Maura telling Harris to go fuck himself. And then sounds of him striking her several times and her crying out in pain. He was relentless with how many times he struck Maura. Angry tears welled up in her eyes when she heard the faint sound of her lady sobbing and crying out for her in the background. Her heart broke knowing that she wasn't there when Maura needed her.

She switched off the audio and reached for the photos. As her trembling hands cycled through the pictures, her blood began to boil. Most of the incidents recorded in the photos she knew about, but there were two pictures at the end that shocked her.

In one, Maura was chained to the radiator, and Harris had taken a selfie kneeling behind her with his filthy hand inside of her pants. A tear was streaming down Maura's face and she looked terrified because of what he was doing to her. His disgusting tongue and lips were pressed against her cheek. Jane's stomach turned as a streak of hate flashed through her body. It was such a violation! Not only to Maura, but to her as well, and to that sacred bond that they had. How dare he touch her like that!

Oh, how glad she was that she had shot the sonofabitch dead.

In the last photo, Maura was staring into the camera; those eyes that Jane adored and often got lost in, were redden and blazing with fear. Her lip was busted and bleeding. It had a message for Jane written on it. The message read: _"These lips won't ever taste you again."_

"Motherfucker…" Jane sighed.

Jane was somewhat aware of the guys searching through the room for evidence, but the only thing that she could focus on was those last two photos. Tears stung the backs of her eyes as her mind came to terms with the fact that Maura had been put into this situation because of her. Evidence or not, she crumbled up the two photos and shoved them into her jacket packet.

Whoever this guy was, had a personal ax to grind. In her mind she'd run through many faces of people whom she could have possibly hurt so badly that they would have come back for revenge, but none that stood out. She'd left on good terms with almost every lover she'd ever had. One of which was standing right there in the room with her.

Her eyes shifted over at Agent Dean and studied him for a moment. They'd made love, yes, but when he started talking about wanting more, it freaked her out and she ran away from him and from any talk of a steady relationship. Gabriel must have felt her eyes on him because he looked up and frowned curiously at her.

She looked away quickly. Her mind was racing. "Think, damn it!" She encouraged herself.

Korsak walked over and touched her lightly on the arm. "There's nothing here except those pics and the recording."

"Yeah, I noticed that." Jane said.

"A wild goose chase." Korsak said.

"No, he wanted us to come here and find this." Jane exhaled, "I can't believe we fell for this!" Jane said as she turned and bolted towards the door.

Korsak and Agent Dean followed behind her. Once they were in their respective cars, they raced back to the precinct. Jane was frantic to get back to Maura. She felt an overwhelming sense of de ja vu.

"Jane, we'll catch this guy," Korsak said in an attempt to calm her down.

Jane didn't want to hear it. "Stop saying that please! I'll believe it when it actually happens."

"I know, but—"

"If Maura gets hurt again because of this bastard, I swear to God, Korsak, it'll kill me." She choked on her tears as they sped back to the precinct.

All she wanted to do was get back and make sure Maura was safe. They'd already gone all the way across town to find this guy who obviously had this planned the entire time. And Jane knew why. He was leading her away so he could get to Maura again. Her gut told her not to leave her, but she did it anyway. And he promised that this time he'd kill her if he got his hands on her. The very thought made Jane want to vomit.

She pulled up to the curb and jumped out of her car leaving the rest of them still behind. Her vision was tunneled as she made her way to the bullpen to see Maura. By the time she made it there, her lungs were burning from the depletion of oxygen. She'd been holding her breath the entire time the elevator ascended to her floor. As she burst into the bullpen, her heart sunk. Maura was nowhere to be found.

"Maura?" Jane nearly yelled. Her entire world was spinning. "No, no, not again." She nearly cried as she struggled to hold herself together. She ran over to the entrance of Brick and looked inside. Nina was nowhere to be found either.

"Oh my god, where are they?" Jane gasped.

By now, Korsak had joined her. "They're probably in the morgue."

"Right, that's right," Jane exhaled as she made her way to the door. As she was exiting to go down to the morgue, Nina was coming in and they bumped into each other.

"Oh, sorry Detective Rizzoli."

"Nina, where's Maura?" Jane didn't try to hide the panic in her voice.

"She went home about twenty minutes ago."

"What?" Jane ran her fingers through her hair, "Why did you let her leave?"

"Dr. Isles said that she was tired and she was going to go home. I told her that it would be best if she stayed, but she assured me that she would be fine. I couldn't leave my post."

Jane began backing away. "I know… Thanks, Nina." She said shaking her head. "Oh man…" She cupped her mouth, trying her best to focus her thoughts. She turned off and ran towards the elevator. She was confused and frightened. Why did Maura leave? She was probably certain that Jane would catch him and felt comfortable enough going home alone. But Jane didn't catch him. She'd fucked up again.

She had to get to her. Her entire world was spinning around her. She couldn't tell which way was up, and she certainly couldn't think a minute ahead of her. All she knew was that she had to get to her.

She ducked into the elevator and before the doors closed, Korsak jumped on too. He stared at her with a genuinely concerned expression on his face. His expression was so warm and loving that it caused those tears that Jane was holding back to burst forth. He reached and embraced her as she sobbed in his arms.

"Shh… it's okay, Jane." He said softly.

"He won't stop until he kills her." She cried into his shoulder.

"Why does he want to hurt her so bad?"

Sensing the elevator was approaching the ground floor; she pulled away from him and swiped her eyes with her hands. She sighed heavily and clamped her jaw tightly.

"Maura…" she sighed heavily, "She's my girlfriend, Vince."

Korsak nodded vacantly, and then sighed.

"I mean, she's more than that. She's the very reason why I get up every day, you know?" Her bottom lip trembled as she searched his eyes for understanding. "I mean, without her, I'm just not right, I'm nothing… And I…" She paused and swallowed her heart, "And I don't know what I'm gonna do if anything happens to her again, and it's because of me."

The elevator came to a stop and Vince sighed, "Who else knows that you and Maura are together?"

"No one that I know of; I mean, we didn't make it that obvious did we?"

"I had no clue." He said stepping off of the elevator.

"And I just told Nina today."

Korsak nodded, "Well, whoever this is knew about you and her and is using her to hurt you."

"I know…" Jane's thoughts started floating to possible suspects again; none could be capable of such heinous behavior, she thought. Her mind cycled through lovers, friends, weirdos, people she'd arrested… Even though her mind traveled all over the place, it kept coming back to one person. Certain things that were said and done made her wonder about him, but her heart would not allow her to accept it.

"At this point Jane, you cannot trust anyone or anything except your gut. It's never let you down before."

Jane nodded vacantly as she felt her heart rising into her throat. "I know. That's the problem…"

* * *

 **Isle's Residence**

The house was dark and quiet when Jane opened the door. She and Korsak stepped in quietly with guns drawn, ready to expect anything.

"Maura?" she whispered.

There was no response.

Jane motioned for Korsak to check the bottom level while Jane made her way upstairs. She checked every room leading up to their bedroom. She didn't want any surprises.

She heard Korsak coming up behind her as she put her hand on their bedroom door and turned it slowly. As the door opened slowly, she caught sight of the most beautiful sight that she'd ever seen. And that was Maura sleeping peacefully in their bed, snuggling with Jane's pillow.

A sigh of relief escaped Jane as a smile creased her face. She holstered her gun and turned to Korsak. "I'm so glad to see her here." She whispered.

"I know you are." Korsak holstered his gun and patted her on the arm, "I'm going to call Agent Dean," he whispered, "And we are gonna stay downstairs with some uniforms on the block and outside. You'll be safe tonight. Get some rest, Jane."

Jane nodded and sighed again. When Korsak had disappeared downstairs, Jane closed the door and locked it behind her. She walked over to her side of the bed and removed her gun, placing it on the nightstand.

Maura stirred a little, possibly sensing that Jane was near. Jane removed her pants and her shirt and slipped into bed with Maura. She spooned her gently, pulling her softly against her and kissing her on the side of the face.

Thoughts of those pictures raced through her mind. She took a moment to caress Maura's face softly. Her heart tugged inside knowing what Harris had done to her. What kind of person would want to hurt sweet Maura? She wouldn't hurt anyone. It's just not fair.

She leaned and kissed her softly again. Her lips hovered above her skin, her nose inhaling the sweet scent of her woman. She sniffled softly as she placed another soft kiss on Maura's ear.

She couldn't believe he was still out there. She glanced over towards the window and squeezed her eyes shut. Jane was so sure that she was going to get him this time. Could he really be smarter than her?

She let out a quivering sigh as she slipped her hand underneath Maura's pajama top. It felt so good to hold her again. She had to get Maura away from this lifestyle. At one time, Jane couldn't have ever imagined her life if she wasn't fighting crime, but now, as she held on to the one thing that she cherished most, she couldn't imagine her life without her.

"Baby?" Jane whispered softly to her. "I'm home." She nuzzled her earlobe.

Maura leaned against Jane and sighed. Jane showered her face with soft gentle kisses, rousing her from her sweet sleep. Eventually her eyes opened up and she smiled up at Jane.

"Hi." Maura whispered.

"Hey Baby," Jane leaned in and kissed her softly. Her lips trembled against Maura's so much so that Maura pulled away and cupped Jane's face, silently studying her eyes.

Jane was happy that the lighting was low in the room so Maura couldn't see just how pained she really was. She felt horrible now, knowing the horror that Maura had gone through at the hands of Harris.

"Who was he?"

Jane's eyes fell in shame as she slowly shook her head. "I'm sorry." She exhaled. "I can't seem to catch him, Maur."

Maura sighed lightly and pulled Jane in for a kiss. It was comforting and soft but strong enough to still the quakes that went through Jane's body.

"Do you have any idea who it is?"

Jane bit down on her lip and pressed her forehead against Maura's. "I think I know who it is, but…"

"But what?" Maura gazed into her eyes. "That's great."

"No… I'm just stressed out and I'm suspecting everyone."

Maura looked at her for a moment and said nothing. She reached over and turned the lamp on, "Jane, who do you think it is?"

Jane sighed heavily and squeezed her eyes shut. "I don't want to think about this right now. I need you."

Maura frowned and sighed; concern was written all over her face. "I'm here, Jane." She said kissing her lightly on the lips.

"Let's move away from Boston," Jane sighed against Maura's lips, before taking them again in a deeper kiss.

"Where should we move?"

Jane's lips course over Maura's skin, grazing her softly with loving kisses. She felt at peace in Maura's arms, her body aching to be one with Maura's again. "Maine."

Maura chuckled and pulled Jane's head into the crook of her neck so she could receive a sweet kiss from her. "I thought you'd say something like Florida."

Jane laughed, "I want to be away from people. I just want it to be us." Her kisses deepened on Maura's neck as Maura pulled her closer and in tighter. "Mmm, that sounds nice."

"Can we do that?" Jane asked as she laid her head on Maura's chest.

Maura gathered her up into her arms and held her close. "Of course we can. I'll go anywhere with you, Jane."

"Great, because I want to get away from this."

"What about your job?"

"Fuck it. I'm getting too old for this. I just want to settle down and be with you."

"Okay, love." Maura said kissing the top of Jane's head.

Jane rose and gazed into her eyes for a few moments before kissing her passionately.

"I'm so happy to be here with you, baby." Jane said as she slipped her body between Maura's legs.

"I'm happy you are here too." Maura said pulling the comforter up to Jane's shoulders. Jane dove in and nibbled on Maura's neck soliciting an adorable chuckle from her. "That tickles."

"I know," Jane said nibbling again on her neck. She took her lips again and kissed her slowly and meaningfully. "I love you." Jane whispered between kisses. "You know that right?"

"Yes, I do." Maura whispered softly.

Jane's mind kept replaying the recording and the pictures. Her heart ached so much. It hurt thinking about what Maura must have been feeling inside while Harris touched her in places that only Jane was allowed to touch her. "Don't ever forget it." Jane said as her lips trailed down Maura's chin, to her neck and further down.

Their slow and sensual kiss lasted maybe ten or so minutes, eventually trailing off into a sweet eskimo.

"Thoughts of something happening to you are driving me insane." Jane whispered.

Maura reached and cupped her face, "I know. We can't let him win."

Jane nodded and sniffled. Her tears were coming out slowly now. She put her head down and nuzzled the crook of Maura's neck and cried silently.

Maura strummed her fingers through her hair with one hand and caressed her back with the other. She knew how emotionally and mentally taxing this chase was. She'd seen Jane unravel before her eyes. And it wasn't pretty. She kissed her lightly and held her close in her arms.

"This isn't your fault," She whispered. "You will never convince me that this madness is your fault." She felt Jane's grip tighten around her, but Jane remained silent.

Maura sighed, wanting to fast forward to a time when this Stalker X has been caught and killed or imprisoned, whichever comes first. She hated seeing Jane so distraught. The only thing that could have come out of all of this terror was Maura's realization of how deeply Jane's love for her truly went. She had no idea she cared so deeply for her.

After a few minutes, Jane's body had relaxed more and she'd fallen asleep in her arms. She smiled and kissed the top of her head. In Maura's arms was Jane's favorite place to fall asleep at night.

"Goodnight, my love." Maura said softly, reaching and pulling the covers over their bodies.

She reached over hit the button on the remote for the stereo. Jane had a favorite song on Maura's playlist. It was Erik Satie's Gymnopédie No.1. The first time they had made love, they were listening to classical music, and this selection just so happened to have come on at the height of their lovemaking. It was perfect…

Now every night, she and Jane listen to it until they fall asleep. She set the song to repeat and settled in with her woman in her arms. She just wanted to hold Jane and make sure she slept well. She couldn't sleep if she tried.

Maura had been laying there with Jane for possibly a half hour when Jane's phone started ringing. Her first instinct was to reach over and turn off the ringer. But she knew she couldn't do it. Jane was needed by someone who kept calling back.

Eventually Jane heard her phone ringing and she jumped up out of her sleep, looking around anxiously and calling for Maura.

"I'm here, Love. Your phone is ringing."

Jane frowned and ran her fingers through her hair. She reached over and grabbed the phone, yawning loudly. She looked down at her phone.

"Oh my god…" she gasped.

Maura sat up and moved closer, "What? Who is it?"

Jane turned the display towards her. Immediately Maura's blood ran cold.

"It's Casey."

"Why is he calling now?"

Jane shrugged and watched the contact picture dance around on the screen. She still had the same one she used for his Skype contact picture as his contact picture.

She sighed heavily, her heart instantly feeling like a millstone.

"Are you going to answer it?" Maura asked softly. She tried her best to keep the jealousy out of her voice, but it was really hard.

"I don't know… I mean, he's been trying to get a hold of me since you were abducted. I have just been too busy to answer, you know." Jane's eyes searched her for understanding and all she found was indifference.

"I understand," Maura said moving back over to her side of the bed.

"Maur, don't be like that. I'm just going to talk with him so he'll stop calling. That's all."

"Okay, I said I understand, Jane. And I do."

Jane sighed and placed the phone down on the bed. Eventually he'll call back. She reached and touched Maura lightly on the hand. "Are you upset?"

Maura shook her head negatively. "I'm just tired and I just don't—"

Her statement was interrupted by the phone ringing again. She smiled and nodded. Jane sighed heavily and picked up the phone.

"Rizzoli?" She answered with her usual greeting.

"Hi Jane."

She closed her eyes and swallowed hard. "Hi Casey, how's it going?"

Maura watched her girlfriend's body turn rigid and her movements calculated. She wasn't sure what was up with Jane, but it just started when she answered his call.

"I've been trying for days to get ahold of you. Are you okay? I heard about what's been happening."

"Yeah, news travels fast I see. Yeah I'm okay." Jane got up out of the bed and paced the floor.

"How's Maura?"

"She's… Uh… Yeah, she's doing good."

There was a long pause on the other line. And Jane just wanted to hang up. He picked the absolute worst time to pop up. Maura hates Casey and they have fought too much about him. She didn't want any more drama.

"That's great. Hey listen, I'm in town."

Jane's eyes snapped over to Maura, who was pretending to be occupied with her phone. "I'm sorry; I can't hook up with you Casey."

Maura looked up and frowned.

"I just want to see you and make sure you're okay. I promise I won't try to hop into your bed," he laughed. His joke turned Jane's stomach and she just shook her head.

"Casey, my apartment burnt down. And I'm staying with a friend, okay?"

"Oh okay. I had no idea. Is there anything that I can do to help?"

"No there isn't. Hey, I was sleeping and I haven't had much sleep lately. If you're okay, I'm gonna go back to bed alright?"

A long pause. "Yes, okay Jane."

She kind of felt bad for brushing him off, but her relationship with Maura was way too valuable to risk.

"I hope to see you before I leave out."

"Okay."

Casey sighed heavily. Jane's rejection must have stung pretty badly. "Goodbye Jane."

"Bye Casey." She ended the call and placed the phone down on the nightstand. She stood there staring at it for the longest time. She lowered her head and shook it slowly.

Maura didn't say anything to her while she was in her private world. She would speak when Jane came back to her. After a minute, Jane sat on the edge of the bed and leaned her head into her hands. The emotional turmoil she was experiencing must have been tremendous.

"Jane?"

A minute later she turned towards Maura and answered by lifting her eyebrows.

"Would you like me to make you something warm to drink? Maybe some cocoa?"

Jane smiled. She expected her to question her about the call but she didn't. Maura was the best. Maura didn't want to argue about Casey either, so she opted to avoid the subject all together.

"That would be great." Jane said standing up and stretching out her hand to Maura.

She took Jane's hand and they walked towards the door. "Oh, Korsak and Gabriel are downstairs."

"Oh…" Maura said thoughtfully. "Does that mean no sex until they leave?" She said brandishing her puppy dog eyes.

Jane chuckled, "I don't have a problem keeping quiet." She winked at her.

Maura smiled and leaned her head on Jane's shoulder. "A warm drink should help us to sleep better. It always works."

"I agree." Jane said opening the door and leading them downstairs.

Maura and Jane entered into the living room and greeting Korsak and Agent Dean. Maura offered the same drink to them and they accepted, each one taking a seat at the island. Jane didn't talk much; she was too tired to talk. All she wanted to do was drink the damn cocoa and go back to bed before anything else crazy happened.

Jane avoided eye contact with Gabriel Dean. It just felt extremely awkward having him here. She was certain that he knew now about her and Maura because of what Paddy said. She didn't care. She didn't care who knew about them.

Maura brought the cups to the guys and placed them in front of them. She then served Jane and topped hers with whipped cream, just like she liked it.

Jane smiled at her. Even in the midst of all this chaos, she still remembered the little things. Maura was a gem.

"Thanks." She whispered.

"You're welcome." Maura's voice was low and seductive and her eyes confirmed her love for Jane even though her lips could not at the moment.

Maura grabbed her cup and stood next to her and sipped on it slowly. Korsak and Dean chatted about football and Jane and Maura made love with their eyes. There wasn't anything that could come between them. This Stalker X had tried, but he failed time and time again.

Jane knew she was one lucky woman.

Jane and Maura had walked over to the sink and were washing the dishes, when the doorbell rang. They dropped what they were doing instantly and turned towards the guys. Korsak and Dean hopped up and stalked towards the door.

Jane checked her watch. Nothing good comes at that this of the morning. Jane pulled Maura behind her and blocked her in between herself and the fridge.

Her heart raced as it seemed to take Korsak hours instead of seconds to reach the door. With guns drawn, they swung opened the door. Jane's heart dropped into her stomach when she saw who was standing at the door.

"Casey!" She gasped.

She turned to look at Maura and saw Maura's face frozen into a shocked expression. She could only move her eyes, which met Jane's and when they did, Jane saw the fiery contempt that was burning inside of Maura's soul. That was only the second time since they met that she saw such raw emotion.

"Oh my god, what are you doing here? How did you know I was here?" She said pulling away from Maura and going over to him.

He shrugged, "You told me you were at a friend's house. You're always over Maura's house so I thought I'd try here."

"You shouldn't have come here."

"I… oh…" He looked around and realized that something was going on. "I'm sorry, Jane… Guys. I can leave." He said pointing towards the door.

"That's a good idea." Jane sighed, the whole time she's looking at Maura in the kitchen as she's busying herself with the dishes. Maura must be pissed as hell!

"I tried to call you back but it kept rolling into voicemail. I tried Maura's, same thing."

"Yeah. I don't know why it would do that. It was fine a minute ago." Jane saw Maura reach into her robe pocket and pull out her phone. A moment later her panicked face makes eye contact with Jane.

Jane walked over to her and touched her arm. "What is it?"

"Something's wrong with my phone. It's stuck in airplane mode."

"Hang on, I'll be back." She ran upstairs and retrieved her phone. "Fuck…" She said coming down the stairs. "Mine too."

Korsak and Dean both checked their phones and the same thing. "What's the hell is going on?"

Casey shook his head at his phone, "I can't get mine out of airplane mode. It's like something is jamming it."

Jane's heart leaps into her throat. This cannot be happening. Stalker X could not have chosen the worst possible time to come after her.

Korsak ran over to the door and looked out. "Where the hell are the uniforms?" Agent Dean rushed to the door and looked out. This situation just went from bad to worse.

"Oh my god, Jane." Maura said and she latched onto her arm.

Jane pulled her close and started thinking of all the places a person could sneak in. They were vulnerable. Like sitting ducks.

"I'm going to go get help, okay Jane. I'm going to see if Angela is home. Agent Dean is going to stay with you girls. You'll be fine. You have the FBI and the Military here with you. You can't be any safer." He said as he exited the house.

Jane just nodded her head. She wished she could believe it. She held on to Maura and she couldn't help but to feel extremely protective. She trusted no one. The only person other than Maura she truly trusted just walked out the door. Her eyes bounced from Gabriel at the door and Casey standing by the window looking out.

"Jane…" Maura whispered.

Jane looked down and saw a look of worry in her eyes. "I know… I know." She whispered. She pulled Maura's over to the couch and sat down with her.

Jane's eyes watched them carefully. Making sure they didn't fall asleep on the job. As she felt Maura's grip tighten on her arm, she lowered her head and squeezed her eyes tightly shut.

 _Please..._ She thought. _Let me be wrong…_

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED**

 **A/N – Thanks for reading. I'm trying to pull this off. Your feedback is greatly appreciated as always. It makes me a better writer to know what readers think of my work. And thanks again for the well wishes. It's great to be back! Sorry for typos/grammar errors on the first run. I'll go back and find them. ~MSA**


	8. Chapter 8

**-8-**

Time seemed to creep by while they waited for Korsak to come back. Ten minutes turned into forty-five. He should have been back by now. Jane's nerves were fringed by the time she decided to get up and look out the window. She didn't want to leave Maura's side, but she knew she had to. A light rain had begun to fall outside. Jane shook her head; she couldn't believe this moment was slowly turning into a complete nightmare. Chills literally raced up her spine as if some ghost lover had touched her.

"Where the fuck is he?" She groaned, shaking off the weird feeling that was creeping up inside of her.

"Maybe he's talking with Angela," Maura said while getting up and walking over to Jane.

"No, Ma's light isn't on, I don't even think she's home."

Maura sighed and glanced out of the window. She reached and took Jane's hand. Jane turned towards her and looked down at their hands and then over to Casey. He was sitting in the chair fumbling with his phone.

Maura followed her eyes and then questioned her with a frown. Jane pulled her hand away as Casey looked up and smiled at her. Maura swallowed audibly and fluttered her eyes downward to the floor, retracting her hand back into her robe. She inhaled deeply, her eyes glancing back over to Casey before stepping away from Jane.

Jane had never pulled away from her like that before, especially not in during a vulnerable time. Here they were, communications disabled and no doubt about to be attacked by Stalker X and Jane pulls away from her just because Casey looks at them?

She cleared her throat softly and walked back over to the couch and sat down. The sting of Jane's unsuspected rejection shocked her into silence. With her eyes fixed firmly on the floor, she refused to look at Jane; for fear that Jane would see the sudden anger that flashed up inside of her.

Jane knew she had messed up, but she had to. Maura couldn't possibly understand why, but she'd make sure to explain it later. After a few quiet seconds of gazing at her, Maura finally looked up. Jane saw the hurt she'd caused her in her eyes. Her eyes usually beaming with happiness now drooped with sadness.

She couldn't possibly understand how much fear coursed through Jane's body at this moment. She couldn't possibly understand how every second brought Jane closer to unraveling. She couldn't understand how much Jane wanted to just cling to her and keep her safe, but she couldn't risk being caught unaware. Especially not now. Jane hoped that she could at least still see the love that she had for her. Maura glanced over to the vacant spot beside her and placed her hand there; requesting Jane's presence where she belonged… And that was right beside her.

"If he isn't back in fifteen, I'm going to go check." Agent Dean said.

"Sounds good," Jane said sitting down next to Maura. "Is your phone still out?"

"Yep, yours?"

"Yeah…" She sighed and fought the tremble that went through her body. Her senses were in hyper drive right now, she saw everything, heard everything, and felt everything. She was going to be ready.

Jane looked into Maura's eyes and sighed heavily with regret. She and Maura were now communicating on level undetected by anyone, heard only by their hearts. They didn't need to speak, for their eyes spoke for them along with facial expressions that were unique to their relationship. Maura reached and touched her softly on the cheek. Jane's emotions were raging like a surging river inside of her. She wished she could just disappear from here with Maura in tow and never return. They'd be so happy while they live out their lives in peace and solitude… Together.

Jane closed her eyes and allowed the peace that issued from Maura's hands to comfort and calm her spirit. Maura may not have understood her reasons for pulling away, but that didn't stop her from recognizing that Jane needed a connection with her even if Jane couldn't see it herself.

Jane nodded; a single bead of tears escaped the corner of her eye. She swiped it away quickly. Maura could only imagine the thoughts that were running through Jane's head at the moment. She felt Jane's unease, and it made her feel uneasy as well.

Maura slipped her hand through the crook of Jane's elbow and held on tight to her. Out of the corner of her eye she could see both Casey and Dean observing them. Talk about being in the spotlight. Maura sighed and studied Jane's eyes. Jane just shook her head. Maura started to feel sorry for getting jealous. She knew this situation was quickly getting out of hand and Jane was probably going crazy inside.

Jane noticed that Maura's eyes had cut over to her right and her eyes narrowed slightly a she clamped down her jaw. Jane didn't need to wonder what or whom she was staring at. She already knew. Jane turned around to see that Maura and Casey had been throwing daggers at each other.

"Is something wrong?" Jane asked him.

His eyes pulled away from Maura and glanced down at her hand wrapped around Jane's arm.

"Nothing at all." He smiled.

Jane frowned at him, "Why are you looking at her like that? Something must be wrong?" She automatically going on the defensive.

"Not at all, Jane, why do you ask?" He sat back in the chair and yawned. "Man, I'm getting sleepy, you mind if I take the guest room?"

"Yes I mind." Jane snapped.

Casey chuckled a bit, "Well, that's Maura's decision, isn't Jane. This is her house, right?"

Jane's blood started to boil. The old asshole was rearing his ugly head. She felt Maura's arm tug her towards her.

"Why am I being treated like a criminal?" He asked. "I did nothing wrong here."

"No one is treating you like a criminal but you just can't show up here without asking if it was okay. That's just wrong." Jane said.

Her entire insides tossed and turned with an emotion that she couldn't quite place.

"Aww, Jane, I'm sorry if I interrupted your," he said tossing up air quotes, "girl time."

Jane looked over his shoulder and saw Agent Dean's attention turning towards them.

"What the fuck does that supposed to mean?" Jane said hopping to her feet and stalking over towards him.

He laughed lowly and shook his head, "Nothing at all, I guess… Nothing at all."

All Jane wanted to do was punch his goddamn lights out. He had it coming to him too. After all that crap that he put her through, the emotional distress, the heartache, and the pain… He was long overdue.

"Listen, you shut your mouth, Casey, do you hear me?" She ran her fingers through her hair and sneered at him, "As soon as Korsak gets back, you're getting out of here." Jane started to tremble with anger. Suddenly as if out of nowhere, she was consumed by the same fiery discontent she saw in Maura's eyes earlier. Her eyes burned holes through Casey's as she hovered over him.

Finally, Casey got tired of her standing over him so he stood up and faced her. "Do you have something to say to me, Jane?" He asked, his voice was devoid of any particular emotion. His callous voice sent chills rushing up her spine.

And there they stood, eyes locked, neither one of them moving a muscle. A tiny smirk crossed his face and he shook his head, "My you haven't changed a bit, Jane." He said slowly rubbing the stubble on his chin, "You can't always go around bossing people. You know that right? You should know your place."

"My place?" She grew even angrier, "And where exactly is my place, huh?" Her stomach turned over. She hadn't heard that in so long she'd almost forgotten what it felt like to hear it coming from him.

Casey didn't answer immediately; he just chuckled and gave Jane the quick glance up and down. A disgusted expression crossed his face just briefly before his fake ass smile returned, but Jane saw it. She saw his look of disgust.

"Perhaps you're just confused, so I'll let you slide on this one."

"What does that supposed to mean?" Jane said. She felt Maura's hand grab hers and tug on it gently.

Agent Dean was now standing behind Casey, possibly because he knew that Casey was royally pissing Jane off.

"You used to know how to act when you were with me," Casey raised an eyebrow, "but now, you're probably just confused about your role since you've been banging your girlfriend there. Dr. Isles doesn't seem like the type to take control of anything… She's so," he said glancing over at Maura, "She's so delicate and soft, very much unlike you." He said so matter of factually.

The shock of his words rippled through her body. The shock eventually gave way to a feeling of hurt that was all too familiar. She'd experience it every time some prospective lover told her that she wasn't feminine enough or soft enough to be with them. Some wounds never heal.

Why couldn't people just leave it alone? She was feminine enough. Maura saw that side to her all the time. Why did it even matter?

"Fuck you," was all her bruised heart could manage to say.

She couldn't understand how Casey could make her feel so small. She turned away and squeezed her eyes shut tightly. Jane had never backed down so quickly before. She was hurt. Casey knew what things to say in order to hurt her most. He always found ways to capitalize on her insecurities, tearing her down so he could stand taller. She thought she'd healed from all of his emotional abuse.

Maura came around from behind Jane and faced him, "You need to leave, right now." Her voice was cool, level, and firm.

Casey glanced up and down at her, while paying close attention to her lips. It made Maura feel extremely uneasy about him.

"Okay, okay folks, let's all just calm down, alright?" Agent Dean chimed in. "This is a stressful time and emotions can run considerably high at the moment. Let's all take this into consideration okay?"

Casey and Maura continued to stare at each other until Dean touched Casey's shoulder firmly.

"Come on, Man. They've gone through enough. Lay off."

Casey nodded. "Fine." He said grabbing his coat, "I'll be leaving now."

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you leave right away." Agent Dean said as he shrugged into his jacket, "Someone needs to be here with them. I need to go check on Korsak."

"We'll be fine, Agent Dean, let him leave." Maura said as she gently pulled Jane down on the couch beside her.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot allow that. It's not safe. Please everyone just sit tight, and I'll be back soon." He said reaching down and grabbing his government issued handgun from his ankle holster, "Do you have a service weapon?" He asked Casey.

"Not on me."

Agent Dean handed the handgun to Casey, "Put your differences aside for now. You need to protect these two with your life until I get back. Do you understand me?"

Casey nodded and took the weapon. He walked over to the door with Agent Dean.

"If it's not me, or Korsak, or Jane's mother, don't let them in, you got it?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, Jane… Maura. I'll be back soon. Sit tight okay?"

They nodded and said okay.

Casey shut the door slowly and engaged the locks. He stood in the shadow of the door, holding the gun. Eventually after some time, he walked back over to the living room and sat down.

It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop in the room. Casey avoided looking at them, but kept his eyes on the windows. And Jane couldn't help but watch him. She thought she knew him, but it's quite possible she had been wrong about him. He had an outer layer of sweetness, but deep down inside he had a dark and malicious side that reared its head every so often.

"Well…" Maura broke the awkward silence; "I might as well be hospitable since we need to be cordial with each other." She said rising from her seat. "May I offer you something warm to drink, Casey?"

He looked oddly at her and narrowed his eyes. "Sure, unless you plan on poisoning me." A half smirk creased his mouth as he glanced over at Jane.

She was looking at him oddly. Her right eyebrow raised slightly while she processed him. One could only wonder what was going on in her mind.

Maura touched her lightly on the shoulder, "Do you want something else, Love?"

She shook her head slowly, finally turning towards her, "No, I'm fine, Baby. Thanks though."

Maura smiled sweetly, "You're welcome." She said before turning off and making her way to the kitchen.

Jane got up and stretched, "Hey, Maur, I'm going to go use the bathroom." She announced before walking around the couch quickly.

Casey got up and headed her off, "Where are you going?"

Jane stepped back and frowned, "I just told you where I was going. I'm going to the bathroom. Must you know what I plan to do while I'm in there?"

"Ugh, no…" He said moving out of her way. He watched as she disappeared down the hallway, before he sat back down.

A few moments passed before Maura brought the hot cocoa out on a tray. She handed him a cup and sat down. Her eyes glanced over her shoulder from time to time, more than likely wondering where Jane was.

She sat back against the arm of the couch and sighed, momentarily getting lost in thought.

"Why do you hate me so much?" Casey said out of the blue.

His question startled her. She glanced over at him and shook her head slowly. "I don't hate anyone."

He nodded and laughed, "That may be true, you're the Good Doctor and all."

She frowned and crinkled up her face. "What?"

"You're envious of me aren't you?" He asked as he took a sip of his cocoa.

Maura chuckled, "Why on Earth would I be envious of you?" Maura didn't try to hide her contempt.

He shrugged and looked over towards the hallway, leaning in a bit closer, "I don't know maybe because I can fuck Jane better than you'll ever be able to?"

Oh he was so vulgar! It sickened her. Maura shook her head and sighed. She was determined to be a better person than him. "I have nothing to discuss with you on the matter."

He took another sip, "That's alright. Just remember that she'll always have a bond with me. You may be her so called best friend, but nothing is stronger than a bond with someone whom you've created life with."

Those words cut at her heart. She knew Jane loved her, but she always had this deep down fear that she'd grow tired of her love and want something more like what women craved; mainly penetration and procreation. Maura thought back on the night before and how much Jane really enjoyed the "Big Boss". Maura had bought is especially for Jane because she loved penetration so much…

Maura got up and walked over to the window and looked out. She didn't want him to see the effect his words had had on her. Just when she felt like she'd gotten a little bit of her confidence and emotional strength back, this sonofabitch came and snatched it away. She's got to get him out of her house!

"So you see, I'm not at all worried about this so called relationship you and Jane have. You're just a phase she's going through. Her heart really belongs to me. Because you know how much she loves a good d—"

"Hey I'm back," Jane literally appeared out of nowhere, walking quickly into the room where she found the tension in the air super thick and volatile. She stopped in her tracks and took the scene in.

"Hey, I was just about to come and look for you," Maura said briefly looking over at Jane before looking back out the window.

Jane noticed right away the tone in Maura's voice. It the same tone that she gets when she's about to cry. She looked over at Casey and he's acting as if nothing is going on. He's just sipping on the cocoa.

"What's going on in here?" She addressed him first.

He shrugged, "Nothing."

Jane glanced over at Maura and slowly walked over to her. She touched her lightly on the arm.

"What's wrong, Baby?" She whispered softly.

Maura turned and looked at her. Her eyes betrayed her as she shook her head negatively. "I… I'm going to go finish those dishes okay?" She said moving around Jane quickly and going off into the kitchen.

Jane watched her for a moment wondering what the hell just happened. She then looked at Casey and knew he had to have said something to upset her. She met Maura in the kitchen and stood close to her, making sure there would be no way for Casey to overhear what they were saying.

She looked over her shoulder and saw Casey watching them. She didn't care if he was watching, she placed her hand on the small of Maura's back and leaned in slowly and kissed her on the cheek. Maura responded by leaning against her lips.

"I love you, Maur…" Jane whispered.

Maura nodded briskly and continued washing dishes.

Jane moved her lips over to Maura's ear and waited for her to pause washing the plate, "Maur… Listen very carefully okay?"

She moved her hands around and embraced her so that she could place her face close to Maura's ear. Maura glanced over to see that Casey was not watching.

"Did he come upstairs when I left?" Jane whispered softly.

"No," Maura said turning back to the sink.

Jane kissed her softly on the cheek. "I gotta get you out of here."

"Why what's wrong?"

Jane sighed heavily, and kissed her softly on the temple. Her breath quivered against Maura's face, "My gun is gone…"

Jane felt Maura's body as it went rigid in her arms. She seemed frozen in the spot, trembling without the ability to move. Jane held her and supported her. Maura nodded, acknowledging the grim news that Jane had just delivered.

* * *

Before they could do anything else, someone started banging frantically at the front door. Jane spun around to see Casey nearly falling out of the chair. He grabbed the gun and ran over to the door. The pounding continued until he peeked out. Immediately he unlocked the door and swung it opened.

Agent Dean pushed in and lost his footing. "Holy shit!" He exclaimed as he hit the floor. Casey tried to help him up but he pushed him away, "Hurry up and shut the door!"

Casey did as he was told and shut the door, engaging the locks once again. Jane had just missed her opportunity to get Maura out. She knew all hell was about to break loose. She grabbed Maura's hand and went over to Dean.

"Dean, what happened?"

He was panting and holding his side. "Korsak is nowhere to be found." He said getting up and he winced from the pain. Jane saw his side was stained red.

"Christ, what happened to you?"

"I was walking the perimeter and I walked up on someone in the back below Maura's window. I surprised him and he jumped me."

Maura moved closer to him, "Let me look at it."

He put up his hand, "I'm okay, it's just a scratch." He said double checking the doors. He made sure every door was locked. He tried dialing out on his phone while he paced back and forth.

"We need to go, I cannot stay here. Maura can't stay here," Jane said.

"I agree," Agent Dean said as he walked to the hallway bathroom. "Give me a quick minute, and we'll get out of here. I just need to clean this wound." He said disappearing into the bathroom.

Maura started trembling in Jane's arms. She was scared and she wasn't afraid to show it. She put her head on Jane's shoulder as Jane walked her over to the door.

"Come on, Dean!" Jane called after him.

A moment later, all the lights in the house went out, and the only light there was were the occasional flashes of lightning from outside.

Maura gasp, "Jane!" she cried out for her in the darkness.

Next they heard Casey tripping over something and crashing to the floor. His cell phone slid across the room.

"Stop! How did you get in here!" Agent Dean yells. "Freeze, goddamn it!"

 _Bang… Bang… Bang…_

The next few seconds went in slow motion as Jane heard a body drop to the floor near the bathroom. She shoved Maura into the corner by the window and covered her with the curtain. And she ran off to give assistance to Agent Dean.

She ran blindly through the dark, partially conscious of the fact that Maura was screaming for her to stop!

"Jane!" She screamed.

She stopped and turned towards Maura. Next she felt something warm and sticky trickle down into her eye, stinging it. She brought her hand up and wiped it away. Her vision grew ever dimmer as her entire world started spinning. The next thing she knew, she was falling to the floor and the world as she knew it turned darker and darker. The last thing she saw before she lost consciousness was the shoes of Stalker X.

 _God, how could I have been so wrong!_

And Jane's world went dark…

 **-TO BE CONTINUED-**

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading. I hate stories that cause serious harm to Jane or Maura. This is not one of them. But in the next couple of updates, both Jane and Maura are going to have to fight hard and fight dirty for their lives. Just a content warning. As with all of my stories, there will be a happy ending. Thanks for following this story. Your comments are welcomed. Sorry for the grammar errors. I'll try to catch them. I'm a little rusty. -MSA**


	9. Chapter 9

**-9-**

Maura used the cover of darkness to maneuver her way through the living room. Her advantage was that whomever it was that had just bashed Jane over the head didn't know that layout of her home. She watched him carefully, waiting for an opportunity and crawl into the kitchen. She found the same fear and panic rising up in her chest, the same kind she felt when she was being held captive by Harris.

She peeked around the side of the couch and saw Jane lying motionless on the floor. It took everything inside of her to keep her mouth shut. Jane would want her to be safe and smart. Maura took in a quivering breath, stilling her heart that was beating wildly inside of her. She saw the man bend over Jane and turn her over, checking her pulse.

A sigh of relief caught in her throat when she was able to discern that Jane was in fact still breathing. Maura's eyes traveled slowly upwards, trying to get a good look at this guy who had to be none other than Stalker X.

The lightning flashed, it was perfectly timed in order for her to catch a glimpse. The image and that moment when she recognized him would forever be burned into her mind. Nothing could stop the cold flash of fear that shot through her body.

"Oh my god…" she mouthed to herself. She took in another deep breath and waited for him to bend down again.

When he did she moved stealthily through the shadows, through the living room until she made it behind the island where she met Casey on the other side. He had the gun clenched in his hands, his back pressed firmly against the island. His breaths came out in ragged intervals. He probably wished he'd never have popped up at Maura's house.

He glanced over at her and nodded. The light from yard lamp out back shined through the window, casting a soft glow on his face. Maura took note that it hadn't been the storm that had knocked out the power. Her house was the only without it.

Sweat poured down Casey's distorted face, his eyes were wild and crazy looking. His jaws were clenched tight. Maura figured that this had thrown him straight into a panic attack. She reached over and pushed his arm and pointed towards the living room. Of the two of them, he obviously he had the best advantage. He had a gun, military hand combat training and more strength. It puzzled her why he hadn't gone to get him yet.

"Go," she mouthed, her eyes pleading with him to act on Jane's behalf.

When he didn't move, she felt intense panic rising up inside of her. She couldn't just sit there and do nothing while he was doing who knows what to Jane in the next room. She peeked around the island and saw him pick Jane up and put her into the chair. He took some type of rope and tied it around her hands and feet so that when she woke up, she couldn't move. He then pushed her back into the chair and smacked her face lightly. Apparently trying to rouse her to consciousness.

It really puzzled Maura why he was so concentrated on Jane, and hadn't even made an attempt to come after her. It just didn't feel right. None of this felt right. They'd been deceived so badly. The sheer fact of that was enough to shatter a person's resolve to live.

Maura's heart was torn as to what she should do. Her first instinct was to risk her life for Jane but Jane wouldn't want her to do that. The longer she waited the angrier she became with herself. Jane had several times risked her life for her, and she could very well do the same goddamned thing! Her breaths came faster and stronger as she quietly summons herself the courage to attack him.

When he had turned his back to the kitchen, she came back around and grabbed Casey's gun and didn't wait for him to protest. She was almost around the island when Casey grabbed her leg and pulled her back. His strength surprised her. With one arm, he whisked her back effortless like she was some type of rag doll.

She didn't want to wait, she wanted to go and save Jane while she had the chance. She started kicking at him and struggling to free herself from his grasp. Casey maneuvered his weight on top of her; pressing into her so she couldn't move, "What are you doing, Maura?" He whispered as he firmly gripped her hand that held the gun.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" She said as she tried to push his body off of her. Her mind went into fight of flight mode. This position that they were in triggered her memories of when Harris had tried to rape her. She almost didn't win over Harris…She wanted to scream out, but she knew doing so would bring attention to them. "Get off of me," she spat, "I'm going to help her." She felt an incredible urge to head-butt him off of her.

"You're going to get yourself killed!" He said in a hot whisper. "Are you crazy?"

"Yes!" Maura said as she raised her knee just the right way and kneed the bastard right in the balls.

He fell off of her, silently gasping for air as he held on to his package. He pulled himself against the island and watched her make her stealth entrance into the living room.

Maura crept quietly through the darkness, the entire time keeping her eyes on him. As she got closer, she pushed aside the fear. If she had to die today, she was going to take him down with her. She was just a few feet away from him when her hands began to shake uncontrollably. She swallowed hard, and summons up every ounce of Paddy Doyle that she had in her.

It wasn't until she saw him touching Jane's breasts; and putting his sadistic and devious hands all over what belonged to her, did a flash of white hot anger flared up inside of her, filling her entire being up with pure hate. It wasn't until now, did Maura know what it meant to truly hate someone. For once in her life, she didn't want answers or explanations. All she wanted was for him to die.

"Gabriel..." Maura said. Her voice was cold and devoid of feeling. She almost scared herself with how she sounded. "Take your hands off of her."

He paused fondling her breasts and started to turn around.

"Turn around very slowly."

Gabriel Dean did as he was ordered and turned around slowly. He held his hands out and smiled at Maura.

"Why?" Maura choked out. As much as she wanted to be badass, she couldn't understand why he would do this. "Why would you do this?"

He just shrugged and laced his fingers behind his head, mocking surrender, and slowly moving away from Maura and towards the couch.

"Don't move!" Maura forced her emotions to stay at bay. She knew from Jane's personal training that perpetrators always looked for weakness. Paddy once told her that she had it in her… "It" being the capability to kill a man; she hoped he was right.

Her eyes gazed down at the wound that he had.

"Oh yeah, that…" He said shifting his weight on his feet. "Just a little red ink here and there and voila; a bleeding wound." He smiled and when he did Maura felt her stomach turn over. "I couldn't have you figuring me out before it was time."

"This makes no sense! Why would you do this to us? Why would you do this to Jane?" Maura say stalking closer to him, suddenly feeling a burst of courage rising up against the defenseless man.

"Why not?" He chuckled.

Maura realized that up until this day, she had never heard him laugh and had barely seen him smile. He was just an agent who was cloaked in mystery. She couldn't believe that she once wanted to sleep with him. She fought a wave of nausea that flowed through her. "Shut up! There's nothing funny about this!"

"Um, actually yes there is." He said as he started to walk towards her.

"Stop! I am not afraid to use this." She said pulling the hammer on the handgun, readying to shoot him dead on the spot. She wasn't joking. She felt no regrets for the thoughts of killing him that were going through her mind. She'd had enough of the deception and of the wild goose chases and of the attempts to drive Jane insane. She wanted it all to end. And end right now. If that meant shooting a person whom she thought she could trust, then so be it.

He stepped closer but Maura was determined to stand her ground.

"Firing a weapon at such a close range is certain death, Agent Dean." She tightened her grip on the gun, "I'm sure you're aware of that, aren't you?"

"I don't think you will. You see, Jane would have already killed me by now, but you…" He said moving closer, daring her to shoot him, "You're so soft and delicate." He said. His voice… What he said was the same thing that Casey said earlier. And Harris!

Her mind began to race with the memories of being captive. Before Harris took that humiliating selfie, he had commented on how soft and delicate she was and how it was a shame that she kept herself this delicate for another woman.

She shook off the feeling of wanting to vomit and glared at him, calculating how many more steps she'd allow before she pulled the trigger.

"You're such a smart girl, Dr. Isles. From the first time I met you, I knew you would be a hard one to deceive." He said moving back towards the chair where Jane was slumped over. He reached down and touched her lips.

"Don't touch her!" Maura stepped closer, her finger nearly pulled it.

"What's the matter, Maura?" Dean crinkled up his face in mock concern. "You don't want anyone else touching her lips, huh?"

"Shut up!" Maura yelled. He was getting to her.

Dean dragged his fingers across her lips, "I bet you hate it knowing that I had her too, don't you Maura."

Maura said nothing, all feeling had gone out of her body and she felt as if she occupied someone else's. Her face hardened and Dean must have seen that she was now contemplating ending his life.

"You're almost as protective of her as she is of you…If not equally the same." He said bending down towards Jane. "Would you kill a man to protect your precious Jane?"

Maura felt chills rush up her spine. He sounded just like Hoyt! And then her heart sunk. Thinking back on each time Hoyt had made an attack on Jane. He was always seemingly five steps ahead of her. And Jane could never understand why. Now it became clearly obvious why.

Instinctively, Maura pulled the trigger, not once but three times. She wanted to be sure not to miss. The force of the shots slung him backwards against the bookcase. Maura stood glued in the spot. She couldn't believe she just shot a man.

Her ears rang and her eyes burned from the exploding gas that came out of the barrel. The recoil shocked her entire body. What shocked her more is seeing him stumble to his feet after she shot him three times.

She stood there, eyes widened, unsure if she was really seeing this sight before her. He laughed and dusted off his suit.

"You know, I'll give it to you. I didn't think you'd actually pull the trigger."

Maura looked down at the gun and started going over reasons why the projectiles didn't drop him like they should have. She didn't see him wearing a vest, so that meant these bullets had to have been blanks or something of the type.

"I can see your brilliant wheels turning. You see, we always had to plan two or three steps ahead of you girls because individually you're smart, but together…" He shoved his hands in his pockets and shook his head, "You two are amazing!"

Maura couldn't stop the tears from bubbling forth. They were tears of hurt mostly. Hurt over the fact that this entire time since Agent Dean walked into their lives, he was masquerading.

"You're one of his apprentices…" Maura gasped. The weight of those words was almost too much to bear.

He shrugged, "Perhaps. But I hate the term 'apprentice' it's so… hmm, it's so demeaning." He sat on the edge of the couch. "There was one that was the first, and the Master chose to keep this one secret, tucking him away in plain view until it was time for him to shine. And an apprentice can only shine when the Master is gone."

"Oh my god."

"And in his absence, the true beauty of his training can be fully realized. This one was the first and he is the last."

Maura couldn't believe her ears! She just wanted to wake up from this horrible nightmare. Those warm brown eyes that she once thought were sexy and alluring, were now steeped in darkness and sinister.

"You're him." She gasped and stepped back away from him.

He shrugged and tapped his chest with his closed fist. "Yes, Maura… I am him."

"She trusted you!" Maura's heart was breaking. "I trusted you!" This was an ultimate betrayal. "How could you do this?"

"You see, Maura," Dean said standing up, "It's kind of like it was with Dennis. You remember Dennis, don't you?" He stepped closer to her and she backed up. "You trust a handsome face way too easily."

"What?"

"This was never about you. This is about Jane. And tonight Jane will watch you die at my hands and there will be nothing she can do about it. And then she will die and there is nothing anyone can do to stop me. Then my job will be complete."

Maura stepped back further from him. As much as she hated it, she needed Casey.

"Casey!" Maura said stepping back further. "Casey please!" She was nearly begging him to come to her aid.

"The saying is so true." Dean sighed.

"Which saying?"

"Keep your friends close…" He smiled.

"And your enemies closer," Came a voice from behind her.

Maura's blood instantly turned icy cold, her heart momentarily stopped in its place. Her hands begun to shake, everything in her body wanted to snap her fingers and disappear with Jane. She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them up again. Hoping, just hoping that maybe this was some sort of an evil nightmare that wouldn't let go of her. She hoped that she would just wake up and be in Jane's warm embrace.

She turned around and faced Jane's second Judas. "Casey," She exhaled as she slowly shook her head. Suddenly, Maura didn't feel so confident anymore. "Not you too."

"Hey Maura," He grinned. His smile sickened her down to the pit of her stomach.

She stood there glaring at him, wishing that he would just die. She didn't need an explanation for his involvement. She didn't care. She just wanted him out of her and Jane's life permanently.

"How could you do this to someone you claim to love?"

He shrugged. "Technically, I didn't do anything." He said pointing to Dean, "It was all him."

Maura turned briefly and when she did, she saw Casey moving towards her out of the corner of her eye. She spun around.

"Don't move!" She yelled. She was hoping she would yell loud enough for Jane to hear her. "What did you do with Vince!"

"Come on now, Maura." Casey said walking towards her. "We all know that gun won't hurt me."

"If you're close enough to me, it will. Now back up!" She said as she moved around the couch and over to Jane.

They allowed her to do as she wished. To them it was entertaining. She didn't care if they planned on killing her; she wasn't going to let them touch Jane.

"Where is Vince?"

They both shrugged. "He's probably chasing a goose downtown, where I sent him." Dean said.

Maura continued to point the gun at them as she checked Jane's pulse. It was strong. It was only a matter of time before she came to.

"You'll never get away with this."

"Watch us," Casey said.

Maura rolled her eyes. When she was facing the unknown identity of Stalker X, she was fearful but now she wasn't. The only thing she feared was never being able to sleep in Jane's arms again. Or never being able to hear her say, "I love you," anymore. Those were the things she cherished most.

"It all makes sense now," Maura said addressing Casey, "That's how you knew about Jane and I. That's how you knew about the baby."

Casey nodded, "You both will pay for what you did to my kid."

"We did everything in our power to protect our child!"

His face turned red and his eyes widened, "Your child?" He growled, suddenly stalking over to Maura and quickly knocking the gun out of her hand, "That wasn't your child."

Maura looked up at him. His towering over her didn't intimidate her, "That precious baby was more my child than it would have ever been yours!"

Rage flared up inside of Casey and he suddenly grabbed her by the throat and pulled her up to his level. "Say it again to my face, bitch." The venom from his vicious tongue dripped out like poison.

Maura grabbed his wrist and held herself up; she could feel him squeezing her throat, slowly choking the life out of her. She looked over at Dean and then back at Casey.

"I would have been a better father than you ever could…" She gasped for air, "You bastard!"

Casey's eyes burned holes through Maura's head. If he could kill her with his eyes, she'd be dead right now.

"Put her down, now." Dean said coolly. "You'll have your chance to do what you have to do when Jane wakes up."

A few seconds later, Casey finally released her, throwing her down on the chair with Jane. She gasped for air, coughing and replenishing her oxygen deprived lungs. A minute later she shook Jane, calling her name repeatedly.

Casey and Dean came over and Casey pulled Maura away from Jane and secured her in the opposite chair. Dean cracked open a pack of smelling salts and waved it under Jane's nose.

"Okay, enough of this wasting time. It's time to end this," He said as he kept waving the pack under her nose until she started coming to consciousness. He and Casey moved into the shadows and waited for Jane to see her precious Maura bound to the chair opposite of her.

* * *

Jane's head was pounding as she struggled to lift it up. It felt like she had a cement block on her neck. She struggled against some unseen force until finally she was able to lift her head enough. Her world continued to spin around her and the sharp throbbing pain in the back on her head made her feel like vomiting.

"Christ!" She said as she tried to reach and touch her head. She tried but she couldn't move her arms. "What the fuck?" She groaned as she squinted through the darkness.

Her eyes found her arms. Instantly she started yelling for Maura and trying to pull herself out of the chair.

"Jane, I'm over here." Maura's voice called out to her.

Jane squinted through the darkness and her pain and finally saw her. "Oh my god, Baby! Are you okay? Are you hurt? Baby, come here, please." Jane fought against the gag reflex every time she moved.

"I can't…" Maura said softly, her eyes filling with tears. "Please, sweetie, be still. You probably have a serious concussion."

"Fuck that!?" She yelled out, "Dean! Where are you, motherfucker! Why are you hiding?" She taunted him to come out into the dim light.

And then the lights switched back on and there stood Dean smiling at Jane. The look of hatred was evident in her eyes.

"Long time no see, Jane." Dean said.

"I will kill you!" Jane growled, her head fell slightly because of the rush of adrenaline to her head. "Let me loose so we can end this right now."

"Oh, what happened to my sweet purring kitten?" Dean said as he walked closer to her. "Oh that's right, I can only get you to purr like that after pounding your pussy. So sorry, I forgot." He said turning around and gazing at Maura.

Maura didn't respond, she just kept her eyes Jane.

"Don't talk to her. You talk to me!"

"Hmm, okay what would you like to talk about?"

"Where's Casey? What did you do to him? Casey! Casey are you alright?" She yelled. She almost felt sorry for treating him so badly earlier. Her gut was telling her it was Casey. She just so happened to have glanced up at Maura and the look in Maura's eyes she'll never forget.

Around the same time, she heard his footfalls stepping around from behind her. He took his place behind Maura and smiled at her.

"Hi Jane."

Jane's heart dropped into her stomach. "Why Casey? Why?" She no longer felt hurt. That ship had sailed. All she felt was the primal need to protect her own. And Maura was her own.

Casey reached down and grabbed Maura's hair, "Such silky goodness, isn't it Jane?"

"Don't touch her!"

"I've heard that one before." He laughed, bending down to Maura's side. "Tell me, Jane… do you miss her long beautiful hair?"

Jane was overwhelmed with rage. She felt nothing but anger as she watched Casey touching what belonged to her.

"I know I do." He said leaning over and kissing her on the cheek. Maura pulled away in disgust. It was the same way that Harris had kissed her in that picture."

"You fucking bastard, get your hands off of her!" Jane had pulled and moved the chair enough to knock over the side table. It came crashing down with a loud noise, shattering the glass all around.

"It's time." Casey said to Dean.

"Time for what!" Jane asked, panic was in her voice. She felt helpless, completely unable to do anything being tied up.

She had to get free.

"You'll see." Casey said as he got up and stood behind Maura.

Jane and Maura's eyes met. It would take a miracle for them to get out of this situation. The odds did not look good, but they both had a will to live.

Tears streamed down Jane's face. Her worst nightmare had come true and at the hands of two men that she once trusted and cared about. It couldn't get any worse than that.

Maura's eyes were afraid, but at the same time she pleaded with Jane not to blame herself for anything that was about to happen. Her eyes were full of love for Jane as Jane's eyes reflected the same love.

"No, Please… Don't hurt her. Let her go." She began to plead. She wiggled out of the chair, crashing in a heap on the floor. She felt sharp pieces of glass stick her but she didn't care. She tried to get up and wasn't quite successful until Dean came over and pulled her up.

"Get up. You're looking quite pitiful right now."

"That's what you want right?" She asked, her voice sounding weak and defeated. "Please, just let me say goodbye to my girlfriend… Please."

Maura's eyes widened with surprise. Dean thought it over for a minute, paying attention to the fact that Jane was bleeding because of the shards of glass embedded in her arms. But Jane couldn't feel it. All she wanted was to kiss Maura one last time.

"Fine. Let her kiss her girl." Dean ordered Casey, before dragging Jane over to Maura.

Casey let Maura's hands free because she was seen as a lesser threat. Maura wrapped Jane into her arms and exhaled heavily.

Jane buried her face into Maura's neck and kissed her lightly. "I love you so much." Jane whispered into Maura's ear. Jane felt Maura give way to tears. "Take it…" She whispered as she moved her hands to alert Maura to the fact that she was handing something to her.

Maura looked in her eyes and kissed her passionately, moving her hand down to meet Jane's. "I love you too, my love. Don't ever forget me."

"Take it…" Jane said again as she slipped a sliver of a jagged piece of glass into her hand. Jane kissed her one more time and started weeping bitterly, "No.. I can't take it! I can't take it!" She said as she fell over in the opposite direction, pulling the attention off of Maura.

Dean and Casey was on her in seconds, trying to restrain her and make her be still. Now was the time for Maura to act.

They underestimated what love can do. Love had a way of making miracles happen. Angela said that the abductors had tried to break them and they were unsuccessful because together, Jane and Maura were unbreakable.

Maura took a deep breath, clenched the glass tightly in her hand and stood slowly. Maura and Jane were about to prove just how strong they were together.

* * *

 **A/N: So how many were surprised? Your thoughts? No, Korsak isn't dead. Thanks for reading. Sorry for errors!**


	10. Chapter 10

**-10-**

Jane struggled with them as both men held her down. Luckily their faces were away Maura. Dean had Jane's shoulders pressed against the floor, pushing with all his might against her. Jane felt the glass cut into her shoulders; she didn't care, she just kept fighting.

"Keep her feet still!" Dean ordered Casey.

"We wouldn't be having this problem if you had tied her ankles right."

"What's the fun in that? It's more exciting when they struggle." His voice was cold and devoid.

Jane couldn't believe that she had trusted him. She tried not to look in Maura's direction and give away the fact that she was creeping closer. It frightened her knowing that she'd just told Maura to attack them. Whatever happens to her from this point on, would be her fault.

"Oh Jane," Casey oozed, "This reminds me of the last time we were together. You remember that?"

"No, No, No!" Jane continued to pretend.

"Oh yes, yes, yes." Casey said forcing himself between her legs, "You're turning me on so much, you little bad girl."

Jane's eyes widened when she realized that he was about to rape her. She realized too that her sleeping outfit made her very accessible. Panic streaked through her and she started fighting harder now for real.

"That's it, Jane. Fight harder. You always were a fighter." He said as he loosened her ankle bonds a little bit more.

Jane tried to pull her hands away from Dean so she could choke the fuck out of Casey. If only he'd give her more slack she could.

"Casey we have no time for this." Dean growled.

"We'll make time." He said as he slipped between her legs and started unbuttoning his pants. "We both know how sweet and tight this pussy is, don't we, Gabe?" He said as he pulled out his cock and prepared to penetrate her.

"Don't this this, Casey!" Jane yelled at him as she tightened her legs around him. "Please!"

"Shut up, bitch." The venom in his words chilled her to the bone. "This is what you deserve. Keep her fucking mouth shut!" He ordered Dean.

Dean leaned over and placed his elbow against Jane's neck, forcing her head to the side and choking her into silence. She gasped for air. She felt like her eyeballs were about to pop out of her head, but out of her peripheral she saw Maura drawing closer.

She hoped that Maura had remembered what she had taught her. To wait until she saw a weakness in the attacker and then strike. She knew she had taught her well over the years.

Jane felt sickened when she felt Casey's cock near her. She was so glad that he was having trouble finding the spot. Some things never change.

"Fuck… You!" She gasped. Her head was spinning from lack of oxygen, but she dared not pass out and miss this moment.

Casey laughed, "You know this is exactly what you need, Jane. You're gonna take this big dick like a—"

Suddenly, he gasped and then his voice was muffled against the skin of Maura's hand. Everything happened so fast, but Jane knew what was happening and what she needed to do. Casey was vulnerable, caught with his pants down, literally. She held her legs tighter around his waist so he couldn't get away from Maura.

Maura had only a few seconds to act before Dean realized what was going on and reacted. Jane knew she'd use them well. Knowing Maura, she'd already calculated every second.

Jane held Casey in a vice grip while Maura tightened her grip around his mouth. With two lightning fast moves, she jabbed the glass in and sliced him on the right side of his neck. Casey instantly grabbed his neck thinking she'd severed his jugular, but that would have been far too humane.

What she did was far worse. She had in fact severed his right phrenic nerve, the nerve that passes through the lung and is responsible for sending messages to the diaphragm to automatically contract. In other words, she just started the process of Casey's very slow and uncomfortable death.

Casey screamed out in pain, as Maura pulled him to his feet and off of Jane. Dean spun around and went for his gun.

Jane, moving on pure adrenaline, swooped her feet around and knocked him off of his feet. He landed with a crash and Jane heard his gun slide across the floor somewhere. This scene was all too familiar.

Jane started chewing at the rope that bound her hand, ripping thread by thread, and wriggling out of the constraints. She knew Casey could kill Maura in an instant if he got the upper hand on her.

Dean dashed out of sight while Maura fought with the enraged and sexually frustrated Casey. Maura had put Casey in a crippling chokehold, pulling him further away from Jane.

"You're sorely mistaken," She growled in his ear as she tightened her grip around his neck. "I am not as soft and delicate as you think I am."

Casey gagged and coughed, "Fuck you, bitch." He said as he pushed her back against the wall, slamming her into it with all his weight against her.

It did hurt, but there was no way in hell Maura was going to let go of him. She's wanted to get him in this position for a very long time. "Is that all you have, Colonel?" She taunted him. "I would hate for your subordinates to know that a soft and delicate little woman took you down."

Casey made a deep guttural sound that came from somewhere deep in his soul. It kind of sounded like some kind of animal. He tried again to knock her off of him, this time slamming their bodies into the window, shattering it into pieces.

Maura took the glass that she was still holding onto, and jabbed it into the other side of his neck, severing the left phrenic nerve. It didn't take long for Casey to drop to his knees after that. With his ability to automatically breathe disabled, he lay in a heap gasping for air.

Maura knelt down and flipped him over. She had blood all over her. But it wasn't his blood though. She had cut him so precisely in those two spots that he actually didn't bleed that much. The blood came from the piece of glass that Jane had given to her. She held on to it with her dear life, determined not to let it go of it until she had killed Casey.

And he was as good as dead. He would slowly suffocate while he contemplated his fate.

He held his throat, his gasps turned into hiccups in quick intervals. Maura's eyes widened as she looked down the length of his body, and of his exposed manhood. She was sickened by the sight of him, knowing that he had just tried to rape her woman.

"You're a pathetic excuse for a man," contempt oozed off of her tongue. She was no longer the sweet and soft Dr. Maura Isles. She was now Jane's girlfriend, bent on revenge.

Casey's eyes widened as he watched her hand move down to his still quite erect cock. "No, don't!" He gasped.

"Hmm, that's so funny, because just a few minutes ago when you were trying to rape my girlfriend, she was begging the same thing of you, but did you listen?"

He tried to speak, but she placed a finger to his lips.

"Shh… It's best if you save your breath. You're going to need it."

He hiccupped and coughed. "What did you do to me?" He asked breathlessly, his face losing its color by the minute.

She shrugged and glanced over at Jane, who was almost out of her restraints. "Let's just say, today is your last day on Earth. And then you're going to Hell where you belong."

"What! Fuck you, bitch!" He snarled and gasped for air. He couldn't do anything if he tried.

Maura reached quickly and sliced the dorsal vein in his cock, making sure that even in the afterlife he couldn't use it to hurt another woman.

He cried out in pain and raised his leg, trying to kick her away, but she caught his leg and cut him deeply on the thigh, partially severing his femoral artery. And then she was finished with Casey. Nothing else was needed to be done regarding him. He would suffocate and bleed to death on Maura's floor. Whichever came first.

She'd exacted the revenge that was deserving. As she knelt there watching him, she felt a sense of forbidden pride bubble up inside of her. This must be what it feels like to catch a bad guy. But just as quickly as her pride rose up inside, she came to the realization that it was not over.

They still had to bring down Gabriel Dean.

She got to her feet and dragged Casey off of her nice rug and tossed him into the corner where he would be left to die alone. She had no more regard for him. He was garbage, properly disposed of like he should be.

* * *

Jane came to her side, quickly scanning her over for serious injuries. Maura's back was slightly cut up by slamming into the broken glass of the window. But it wasn't too bad. Her hand however was a different story.

Jane reached down and took the glass from her. She literally had to pry it from her. Jane looked over in the corner where Maura had disposed of Casey.

"Is he dead?" She whispered.

"Not yet, but he will be soon." Maura said blankly.

Jane crouched down onto the floor, near the window, and pulled Maura down with her. She had to make sure she was okay. She scanned her over again, a smile of approval crossing her face.

Maura nodded and kept scanning the room for Dean. "Dean…" Maura whispered. "He won't be taken down as easily."

Jane nodded. "Yeah, I know. I've got him. You get out of here now." She said planting a deep kiss on Maura's lips. "I will handle him."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Now is not the time to be stubborn, Maur."

"I'm not being stubborn," she said touching Jane softly on the cheek, "Remember together we are stronger." She reached and took her hand. "I'm never leaving you again. He'll have to take us both down."

Jane swallowed hard, "But Maura,"

"No buts," she whispered. "I will not allow you to do this alone. We can do this. Trust me, please."

Jane gazed into her eyes. She didn't want her to be right, but she couldn't help but to accept the fact that she was. They were better off sticking together and bringing this motherfucker down once and for all.

"He said that he was the first, Jane… And the last." Maura said as she took a quick moment to wipe the blood off of her hand, "We will end this with him."

"What if there is another?"

"We can't worry about that right now, but I highly doubt there is," she said wincing; the pain finally coming back into her body. Everything was hurting.

"Yeah, this seems like the ultimate." Jane nodded and sighed. She didn't like the idea of dragging her lady into a full blown Agent/Cop fight, but she had no choice. Maura wasn't going to have it any other way.

"I know you're worried about me. I will be fine. I will do what I need to do to stay alive." Maura said softly. Her words calmed Jane's anxious heart.

Jane nodded and her face creased with a smile. "Please do. And I'll do the same." Jane forced her tears to stay inside. "If something happens to me, promise me you'll—"

Maura frowned. Jane's statement was truly offensive to her ears. "Stop," she said shaking her head, we have no time for this. We will beat him." She said reaching over and pulling Jane into a deep kiss. She pulled away from her and nodded.

"I need for you to be strong like you always are for me, Jane, okay?"

Jane nodded.

"I'm scared too, but we are here, right now…" She paused when she heard a noise in the backside of the house. They both looked off in that direction. She turned Jane's attention back to her, "We have him here. Let's go kill him and put an end to this once and for all. Alright?"

Jane nodded and smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too." Maura said, kissing her softly one last time. She ripped a piece of her curtain and wrapped it around her bleeding hand.

"I have a plan." Jane said as she crawled over and grabbed a flashlight that was on the floor. She moved back over to the window and aimed the flashlight in the direction of Maura's reflective address sign.

She wished that she could just aim it at the cameras but unfortunately, the cameras were pointing towards the door. But if Jane could aim it just right, Nina would be able to see her cry for help. She hoped this would work. By now, hopefully Korsak was back at the station and hopefully they'd see this:

 **... - - - ...**

and then,

 **\- .. -**

She only had a quick minute to repeat the sequence and hope that someone was watching. She signaled an SOS and then the letter X. They would know exactly what she was referring to.

She leaned back against the window sill and nodded at Maura. Jane was ready. Maura nodded back and took her hand. She was ready too.

Jane moved ahead of her and switched off the light to the living room. They had a clear advantage over Dean. He didn't know the layout of Maura's house. And once they lured him out, they take him by surprise.

Jane now directed her to the kitchen where they crawled around the couch, taking the same path Maura had taken just a few minutes before. As they passed the hallway, they saw his menacing shadowy figure lying in wait. Jane had to admit, it scared the crap out of her, but she was not going to allow him to win. Not this time.

Too much was at stake, one of which was the life of Maura.

"Fuck!" She gasped when she saw him and she shoved Maura into the kitchen, switching off the light in the process.

"How romantic, Jane. You ladies turned the lights down just for me." He taunted. "I'm glad you remembered my preferences.

Jane focused on the cupboard across the room, helping her eyes to adjust to the darkness.

"Come out, come out wherever you are?"

Jane put her finger to her lips, motioning for Maura to stay and as silent as possible. She reached up and slowly slid the flatware drawer opened and retrieved a knife. It was a steak knife. She rolled her eyes and cursed her luck. She was hoping to grab the butcher's knife at first try but this would have to do.

She closed it and pressed her back against the island. She heard his footsteps walking slowly down the hallway. She looked over at Maura and watched her face as he drew ever nearer to them. Her face didn't display fear anymore, but instead it radiated confidence in herself and in them as a team.

Maura nodded slowly, approving of whatever idea Jane had. They had each one agreed to do whatever it took to stay alive… They would be fine.

They knew that he knew where they were and that was the whole point. Jane gripped the knife as tight as she could and took deep breaths to still her panic. What if she did something wrong? What if she couldn't prevail over him? Those panicked thoughts didn't have a chance to run full circle before Dean reached over the island and grabbed Maura up by the hair.

Even though they were waiting for him, he still surprised them.

"Come here, baby." He said pulling her up and over the island.

In the struggle she kicked her utensils off of it, they spilled in a mess on the floor. She caught sight of her Butcher's block and kicked at it so Jane could reach it.

"Ahh!" Maura cried out. "Let me go!" She felt her hair ripping out at the roots. She couldn't help but to be enraged at the fact that these men had a sick obsession with her hair and of destroying it.

"Shut up," he said calmly as he reached around a cupped her mouth with his hand. She instinctively bit him as hard as she could.

He yelled and pulled her back towards him and punched her with all of his might in her face. She couldn't really feel the pain because of all the adrenaline coursing through her veins, all she remembered was the sheer force of the blow. It was brutal.

She landed against the back of the couch, temporarily stunned. Dean was on her within seconds with his hands wrapped around her throat. He didn't get a chance to squeeze too hard though because Jane was right there in seconds.

She jumped on his back and sunk a better, longer knife down into his shoulder blade. She pushed it as hard as she could, sliding the knife down into his right shoulder. She'd hoped that she could sever something that would disable his dominate hand.

He fell over onto Maura and unfortunately for Maura his weight plus Jane's had crashed down on her. But they couldn't worry about that right now. Time was of the essence!

Maura wrapped her arms around Dean, holding him steady.

"Jane, left shoulder!" Maura yelled.

Jane didn't have time to think about anything else. She pulled the butcher's knife out of Dean's right shoulder, and clasping it with both hands, she drove the serrated blade deep into his left shoulder. She felt the vibrations of the blade as it sawed through sinew and bone.

She stabbed him with all her might praying that she wouldn't stab Maura too.

"Again!" Maura yelled.

When Jane pulled the blade out, blood splashed everywhere. Jane had seen blood millions of times but this sight made her literally sick. On Maura's orders she stabbed him again. Maura held him tight as he screamed out in pain and tried to sling Jane off of him.

He reached up and grabbed Maura's throat and squeezed it. He had determined that if Jane takes him down, Maura is going with him. Maura eventually had to let go of him in order to try to lessen the vice grip his hand had around her neck.

Every second that passed, she found it harder and harder to breathe. She refused to let him kill her in front of Jane. She refused!

She mustered up as much strength as she could and kicked both him and Jane off of her. They went crashing against the island. It took no time for Dean to hop on top of Jane and start strangling her.

Jane received it worse than Maura, because this deeply engrained hate that Dean had for her came out in the intensity in which he was strangling the life out of her. He would not quit until she was dead.

His thumb pressed harder into her trachea and she could feel it giving way prior to being crushed. The world as she knew it started to blur and the last thing she wanted was for Maura to see her die. But at least Maura was safe. She could go in peace knowing that she was safe.

 _Bang… Bang… Bang_

The sound of gunfire rang out, rendering Jane momentarily deaf. Dean had been the receiver of the gunshots, the slugs hitting him in three vital places. His stunned eyes stared into Jane's before he loosened his grip on her neck. A second later, he fell over.

Jane gasped for air as she tried to process what had just happened. She struggled to her knees and looked up as the smoke cleared. And there stood Maura, holding the gun that Dean had dropped earlier.

Jane looked down at Dean, the three slugs never made in exit. They were three perfect kill shots, precisely executed by Maura. She reached over and checked his pulse. He was still alive but barely.

"Jane." Dean's weak voice called her.

Her eyes narrowed, forever recording the moment when Maura took down Jane's arch nemesis. Jane looked up at Maura and pride filled her up.

"What?"

Dean smiled, blood from his internal injuries oozed out of his mouth. He laughed weakly.

"You win," He gasped.

Jane shook her head slowly, disgusted that he would compare all he'd put her through as a game.

"No…" Maura said walking over to him and pointing the gun at him. "We win." She said, pulling the trigger one last time.

She put a permanent end to Jane's stalking, to her struggles, to her pain, and to her nightmares… Everything that had she suffered at the hands of Hoyt and his apprentices had finally come to an end.

Maura knew Gabriel Dean was dead. She knew death when she saw it. When she came to the shocking realization that she had just killed, not one but two men, the weight of her actions fell heavily upon her. She begun to shake uncontrollably as she dropped to her knees beside Gabriel Dean's lifeless body.

She let out a heart wrenching cry, one that Jane would never forget.

Jane crawled over to her side and pulled her into her arms. She took the gun from her and slid it away. Maura cried uncontrollably in her arms. She gently consoled her with kisses.

"You did good, Baby…" She said choking on her own tears. "God, I'm so proud of you." She wiped her tears away with her shoulder and held her Maura close to her as she cried in her arms.

She could hear the sirens coming down the street. She smiled and shook her head. She knew Nina had gotten the message and sent the cavalry in. A few seconds later she heard tires screeching to a halt and the voices of Frankie and Korsak nearing the door.

"It's over, Maur…" Jane said looking into Maura's eyes.

The tears streamed out of Maura's eyes as she nodded in agreement.

"We did it." Jane said softly, kissing her lightly on the lips. "You saved me."

Maura just nodded and buried her face into Jane's chest. Jane held her tight and secure. A moment later, the tactical team burst through Maura's door with the battering ram and in poured dozens of policemen.

Korsak came to where Jane and Maura were sitting and saw the dead Agent Dean lying next to him. There was so much blood everywhere it was hard to distinguish whose was whose.

"Are you hurt?" Korsak asked.

"Yeah, we're pretty banged up," Jane answered for them.

Korsak went over and checked Casey's pulse. "He's dead." He lowered his head and swore. "Christ! How could I have been so blind?"

Jane knew Korsak would take it personally. She just nodded weakly. "We all were." She assured him.

Frankie pushed into the room and went to Jane's side, checking her for bad wounds. He reached down and gathered his sister up into his arms, and Korsak took Maura, taking her into his fatherly arms as well and they carried them out to the awaiting ambulances.

These women had just fought for their lives and won.

They each were put on a stretcher and moved to an ambulance. As they passed each other, Maura reached out and touched Jane's hand. With that simple gesture, Jane's heart was filled with love and pride. In Maura's eyes she deciphered a promise that has withstood the test of time.

Come what may, she'd always be by her side…

* * *

 **A/N: Whew, I hope you liked this update. What are your thoughts? I'll be wrapping up this story maybe in the next update. Thanks for reading it, even with my long hiatus. I appreciate you all. -MSA**


	11. Chapter 11

**-11-**

It took a solid three days for Maura's house to be processed and cleaned. She and Jane spent that time in the hospital having their wounds cared for. The staff put them in the same room together, which was a very good idea considering being close to one another had helped them to recover faster. Jane had a really nasty concussion and was banged up pretty badly, but Maura, now Maura was the one with the most injuries. She'd fought very hard for their lives.

But even if everyone was hailing her as a hero, having defeated the last apprentice, she didn't feel like what she did was praiseworthy. She'd killed two men, both savagely in her eyes, and regardless of how hard she tried she couldn't quite wrap her mind around it.

"Hey?" Jane's soft voice called to her.

Maura's eyes fluttered momentarily and looked over at Jane. Jane's soft brown eyes smiled at her before they traveled down to her hands.

Maura's hand had paused on the doorknob after unlocking the deadbolt. She wasn't quite sure why she couldn't move, she just couldn't. She wasn't afraid anymore. Stalker X had been identified and eliminated, forever gone out of hers and Jane's lives.

"You okay?" Jane said softly.

Maura inhaled deeply and nodded. "Yes, I am." She said turning the knob and opening the door. She stood there briefly allowing her mind to adjust to the onslaught of flashbacks that suddenly flooded her mind.

"Wow," she said stepping over the threshold, "It looks like nothing happened in here."

Jane closed the door quietly behind them, "Yeah they did a good job cleaning everything up." She sighed as she came up behind Maura and placed a soft kiss on her cheek.

"I wish it was that easy to forget."

Jane put her arm around her and pulled her in for a tight embrace, "Me too, Baby." She exhaled as she tucked her head into the crook of Maura's neck and kissed her lightly.

"I'm so ready for our life to get back to normal, Jane."

Jane chuckled and placed their foreheads together. She wrapped her arms around Maura's waist and pulled her in close.

"Ouch…" Maura lamented.

"Sorry," Jane said loosening her grip a bit, "I hate to break this to you, Maur, but our life was never really normal."

Maura smiled and nodded, she raised her head slightly, allowing Jane's lips to caress the sensitive area between her eyes.

"I know, but maybe we can change that…" She said softly.

"What do you mean?" Jane asked.

Maura was about to explain when there was a soft knocking on the door. She sighed heavily and pulled away from Jane. "It's probably Angela," Maura said lightly as she started off towards the door.

But Jane caught her gently and pulled her back in for a soft kiss. When Jane's lips touched hers, Maura finally felt at ease for the first time in 3 days. She'd missed feeling her lips pressed against hers.

When she pulled away, the look in Jane's eyes told her that she felt the same thing. And the slight smile that played across her lips let Maura know that Jane was thinking of the same thing that she was thinking of.

"I should get that." Maura said clearing her throat and walking to the door.

Jane found her place on the couch, sitting down gently. She still ached all over, but it wasn't as bad as the first night. She glanced over into the corner of the room, her heart sunk slightly. It sunk at the thought of Casey dying on Maura's floor and how they would never forget that memory because it was forever ingrained into their minds.

The rug was gone; no doubt it was ruined from the huge amount of blood that soaked it. Overall the room looked great. Whoever put this place back together tried to make it look just like it was.

"Hey sweetie," Angela said as she came into the living area with Maura following closely behind her.

"Hey, Ma." Jane greeted her without getting up. She would have but her muscles were extremely stiff.

Angela sat down next to her and caressed her face. "I am so sorry."

Jane knew exactly what she was talking about, but she didn't want to acknowledge it. It didn't matter if she and Casey grew up together, it didn't matter if they once loved each other, and it didn't matter that they conceived a child together. All of that was unimportant. The minute he betrayed her and started working with her enemy, that is when he and all of the memories of him had perished from existence. Knowing that regardless of everything they had gone through together; he still turned on her.

 _Fuck Casey…_

"It's okay, Ma. It's over now. We are all safe."

Angela nodded. "I know that now. I mean, you think you know someone only to realize you don't."

"Yeah…" Jane's voice trailed off as she looked over at Maura.

Maura came and sat next to her a minute later and patted her on the leg. "Are you hungry, Love?"

Jane nodded, "Yeah, just a little."

She nodded and stood, "Okay, I'll make you something to eat."

"Oh no you won't," Angela said getting up and gently pushing Maura back down into her seat beside Jane. "I'm going to make you girls some dinner before I go home."

"You don't have to do that, Angela."

"I know I don't, girls, but I want to. You've been through a lot. Just relax, okay?"

They couldn't argue the point. So they agreed and relaxed on the couch.

Jane put her arm around her beautiful woman and pulled her close. "I can't say it enough about how proud I am of you." She whispered to her, snuggling her nose close to her ear.

Maura nodded and leaned against her face. "I wish I was proud of myself."

Jane sighed. "I understand what you're feeling. It'll get better."

Maura chuckled, "Please don't tell me it'll get better by killing more people." She laughed.

Jane shook her head and kissed her softly on the corner of her eyelid, catching a sneaky little tear that tried to escape. "Okay, I won't tell you that."

They laughed together and it felt good to do it, even though it seemed a little weird laughing about what had happened.

Jane exercised great restraint sitting there with her, because all she wanted to do and needed to do was be as close to her as possible. She wanted to spend the rest of the day making love to Maura, and purge every sort of negative thing that's happened to them over the past couple of weeks out of their souls.

They needed that.

"If Ma wasn't here," Jane whispered in Maura's ear.

Maura exhaled heavily and leaned her face further against Jane's lips. "I know… Me too."

Maura reached down and entwined her fingers with Jane's and held her hand as tightly as she possibly could while Jane placed soft kisses on her face.

"I love you," Jane said softly.

Maura had heard Jane say it countless number of times, but this time when those words landed on her heart, they hit her so hard that it moved her to tears. So much had happened to them. They were prematurely torn apart, reunited, forced apart again by fear, reunited again, only to be terrorized and almost killed by two people whom they thought they could trust.

"Oh Jane," Maura exhaled. She couldn't hold back any longer. The only reason she'd been holding back was because Angela was there. She cupped her hands around Jane's face and kissed her passionately on the lips.

Jane didn't seem to resist, didn't seem to care that her mother was there. This moment was all about them. Jane embraced her and pulled her tighter and deeper into her kiss until they were satisfied with the exchange.

Maura pulled away slowly; her eyes fixed on Jane's lips, while she bit down on her own.

"Breathe." Jane said softly.

It was only then that Maura realized that she had been holding her breath. She gasped, filling her lungs with much needed air.

"You're so adorable," Jane said as she placed another kiss on her lips.

Maura finally found the strength to put away from the source of her comfort and happiness. She was sore all over.

"I'm going to go take a warm shower," she said rising from her seat. "My muscles are aching badly."

"Give me a minute and I'll come join you." Jane said.

A smile crossed Maura's face. They hadn't showered together in weeks. It was nice to know that Jane wanted to again. "Okay," She said rubbing her arms. "I'll wait for you."

Jane nodded and watched her walk away. There was something extremely satisfying about knowing that Maura had went totally badass on Dean and Casey. She always knew she had it in her. She just had no idea she could do it so effectively like she did. And it made her feel glad to be on her good side!

Jane shook her head and shrugged off into the kitchen with Angela. She sat down at the island and observed her preparing the meal.

"What are you making?"

"Asiago chicken Alfredo, with some asparagus and polenta."

"Yum," Jane said suppressing a pretend yawn.

Angela looked sideways at her and shook her head. "I'll leave the food in the oven for you girls, okay." She said as she continued to mix the ingredients together, "I know if I'd just gone through what you two have gone through; I would want a quiet evening to spend together... alone."

Jane nodded and smiled. "Thanks, Ma."

"I'll be finished here in a little bit. So if you don't need anything from me, I'm fine." She said waving her away.

Jane chuckled and got up from her seat. "Don't forget to lock the door when you leave out." Jane reminded her and then it became suddenly clear that she didn't need to watch the doors anymore.

Angela nodded and gave her the A-OK.

Jane left her mother in the kitchen and went to join Maura. As Jane pushed opened the door to their bedroom, she heard the shower running. When she entered she saw Maura sitting on the edge of the bed getting undressed. She watched her for a moment, watching this beautiful person getting naked in front of her. When she looked up and caught sight of Jane standing in the doorway, she smiled the sweetest smile that Jane had ever seen.

"I thought you had forgotten about me." She said softly.

Jane closed the door behind her and locked it. She crossed the short distance and knelt down in front of Maura. "I could never forget you." She said looking up into her eyes.

Jane's eyes searched Maura's, scanning her soul for something very special and something unique to their love. She found it a second later. A smile crossed her face, forcing the tears of pride out of her eyes.

Maura reached and cupped Jane's face, her thumbs whisking them away. She pulled Jane closer and kissed her softly. Jane ran her hands the length of Maura's back being careful to be gentle with her injured woman.

"I don't want to hurt you." Jane whispered against her lips.

"You won't." Maura answered breathlessly.

Jane began to tremble as she gathered Maura's soft ivory body up into her arms, pulling Maura's legs around her waist so she could maneuver her way around to the bed to sit down. Effortless she executed the move, sitting gently on the bed with Maura in her lap.

Jane just stared into her eyes, smiling softly at her. No words were said… None were needed.

Maura smiled back at her and strummed her fingers through Jane's hair. Chills rushed up Jane's spine when Maura pulled on her dark flowing locks, pulling her head back slightly. Jane closed her eyes while Maura leaned in and kissed her softly on her chin.

Jane swallowed her heart that had risen into her throat. She was on an emotional overload at the moment. Feeling Maura's body against hers made her suddenly aware of how close she came to losing this feeling.

She captured Maura's lips as they made a pass over hers and held them in a deep and quivering kiss. Jane felt warm tears coming out of her tightly closed eyes. As hard as she tried, she couldn't keep them in.

Maura leaned in and kissed them away, accepting Jane's tears as her own, absorbing them into her own body. It was then that Jane realized that Maura had really saved her. Not just physically, but also mentally, and emotionally.

She opened her eyes and saw Maura staring down at her. Smiling.

"Let's change our life." Maura whispered.

"How?" Jane asked pulling their bodies closer together.

"Let's do what you want to do." Maura said reaching down and pulling Jane's t-shirt over her head. "Let's move away together."

Jane swallowed hard as she felt Maura reach around and unsnap her bra.

"Do you mean that?"

Maura nodded and kissed her slowly and passionately. She laced her fingers through Jane's hair and moaned softly into the kiss. Jane reached up and held her tightly against her.

"Yes, I do." Maura said as she slid off of Jane's lap. She reached out and took her hand and led her to the shower.

Maura stepped in first and glanced down at Jane's bottoms. "Are you going to shower in your slacks?"

Jane hadn't even noticed she was still in her pants. She shook her head and laughed. "Of course not," she said stepping quickly out of them.

She stepped into the shower with Maura and took her into her arms. She kissed her gently and reached for the shower gel. She worked up a lather and was careful not to rub the soap over Maura's cuts. Every so often, Maura would wince from the sensation of the soap stinging her cuts. Maura in turn did the same to Jane, being careful not to agitate her healing wounds. Overall it was a very quick and delicate shower.

Jane stepped out carefully and grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself. When Maura came out, she wrapped a towel around her and they walked back into the bedroom. They sat on the edge of the bed and Jane took Maura's towel from her and motioned for her to turn around, then she began to dry her off slowly, patting her healing wounds dry, kissing them lightly.

"Are you still sore?"

Maura nodded, "Just a little bit."

"Lay down." Jane said motioning for her to lie down on her belly. When she did as she was instructed, Jane reached into the nightstand and retrieved a bottle of massage oil. She sat beside Maura and squeezed out a generous measure into her hands.

Warming the oils between her palms, the spread it gently on Maura's back, applying just the right amount of pressure needed to work her muscles into submission.

"Mmmm," she moaned softly.

"Do you like that?"

"Yes." Maura answered just above a whispered.

Jane smiled and continued to massage her beautiful lady's shoulders. All she wanted was to be close to her. She couldn't help herself; she leaned in and kissed her shoulders softly.

She saw Maura's skin prickle from the touch of her lips. She leaned in again, this time kissing her on the back of the neck, tracing her fine blond hairs along her neckline with her trembling tongue.

"Mmmm, Jane." Maura sighed.

Jane tugged at her towel and let it fall off of her. She leaned over, draping her arm across Maura's soft body. She kissed Maura's ear, running her eager tongue along the edges of her lobe. Maura really loves this.

It only took a few seconds for her to heat up by Jane's kisses. She reached around and cupped Jane's head pulling her further against her.

"Mmm, that feels amazing."

Jane continued to nibble on her ear and the more she nibbled the harder Maura would tug her, until before she knew it, she was lying on top of her.

She hadn't planned lying in this position with her, but it worked and Maura seemed to like it. She reached up and took Maura's hand and secured her hands with hers. Maura let out a soft sigh as Jane kissed her softly on the back of the neck, in between her shoulders, down her back and then back up.

Jane's kisses produced goosebumps on top of goosebumps. She could tell Maura was enjoying it. She firmly placed a love bite on the back of Maura's shoulder before she flipped her over to face her. Her eyes were wide with excitement and shimmering with love.

Jane slipped in between her legs and pressed herself against her. Maura reached down and helped Jane out alittle bit, pulling her closer and harder against her.

"You feel so good," Jane whispered.

"So do you." Maura took her lips hotly and parted them, forcing her tongue inside. "You've excited me so much, Love."

"Good."

"Jane…" Maura moaned her name, her body beginning to tremble slightly.

"Yes?" Jane said reaching down and finding Maura's hot pussy, and slipping her finger inside.

"Ahh…mmm." She cooed when Jane slid her finger all the way in.

Jane smiled in response. She loved seeing Maura melt in her arms. Her thumb caressed her hardening clit. Maura's body quivered to her touch.

Maura pulled Jane close and pressed their foreheads together while Jane stroked her deep inside. Jane paid special attention to Maura soft G-spot, now rippling towards an orgasm.

Their eyes were locked, and it didn't seem that they could get any closer than they were now.

"Jane…" Maura said breathlessly as she gazed into Jane's eyes.

Jane fought against the urge of closing her eyes and enjoying the feel of Maura inside. She literally had to force herself to keep her eyes on Maura.

"Yes, Baby?"

"I love you…" Maura's bottom lip trembled.

"I love you too."

Maura reached and clenched Jane's hair tighter; her entire body trembled in Jane's arms.

"Marry me." Maura gasped suddenly as a streak of passion rushed through her body.

"What?" Jane asked, she wasn't too sure she'd heard her right.

Maura took her lips again, kissing her deeply. Jane stopped touching Maura and leaned up on her arms. She looked into her eyes and everything she saw was genuine.

"Marry me, please?" She repeated.

Jane's mouth hung open. She was at a total loss for words. "Are you serious?"

Maura nodded and flipped Jane over onto her back, straddling her with her slender body. She leaned over and kissed her. "I want to be with you every minute of every hour of every day of my life."

Jane was still stunned.

Maura smiled and caressed her face. "Will you marry me, Jane?"

Jane swallowed hard. "You're serious aren't you?"

"Yes I am. Let's move to Maine like you wanted?

Finally a smile crossed Jane's face. "Do you really want to be with me for the rest of your life, because I'm a forever type of girl, Maur?"

Maura chuckled. And for the first time in a very long time, she'd gotten her laugh back. That adorable chuckle that always made Jane laugh with her.

"I want to be with you forever."

Jane smiled and nodded. "Yes, I'll marry you." Jane said pulling Maura in for a deep kiss. "You make me so happy, I hope you know that?"

"You make me happy as well."

Maura relaxed into Jane's embrace and they switched positions again, this time settling into their customary sleeping position with Jane as the big spoon.

She held Maura close as so many emotions raced through her. "Promise me that you'll never leave me?" Jane whispered placing her lips against Maura's face.

"I promise."

"I cannot wait to be your wife, Baby."

"And I cannot wait to be yours."

As Jane held her close, she stroked her hair softly. "I am really convinced that nothing will ever break us up."

"So am I."

"They tried really hard, you know. But they couldn't break us. You know why?"

Maura turned over and gazed into Jane's tear filled eyes. She watched her blink repeatedly, her tears spilling onto her breasts.

"Why couldn't they?" Maura asked softly caressing Jane's soft face.

"Because when we're together, we become stronger than when we are apart. No one can break us, Baby."

Maura nodded, "You're right. Our love is unbreakable."

Jane nodded and kissed her again. "Yep, it is." Jane finally understanding what her mother had said to her a few days ago. "It certainly is."

After a few quiet moments, they finally picked up where they left off and made sweet passionate love to each other for the rest of the evening. Their lovemaking purified their spirits and prepared their minds and their hearts for a future journey together.

And from that day forward, nothing could or would ever separate them again.

 **xx The End xx**

* * *

 **A/N Thanks for reading!**


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